Kyou Kyou Love!
by GoddessInProgress
Summary: Aoi Hisoka ate the Kyou-Kyou Devil Fruit and now she protects her island with all she's got! She wants everyone to be happy, and she won't let anyone interrupt that! Exaggerated rumors of her talents have spread far and wide. Everyone wants the truth, but all Hisoka wants is to stay where she is with those she cherishes. A pirate crew is far, far from what she dreams of! OCxLuffy
1. Surfaces

**Author's Note:** **Thank you so much for checking out KKL! Now, this is a story that I started writing around two years ago. You may know it from Quizilla, but I have decided to re-post it here. Please forgive any errors in the writing. My writing abilities have increased dramatically since two years ago, so this story will only get better and better when it comes to writing style as I continue to post up to the more recent chapters. I have revised it slightly and I plan on revising every chapter a bit, but I can't change too much. I hope you are still able to enjoy it. **

**This is rated M due to future violence and such.  
**

**This will be OCxLuffy, but the romance is very slow. You can't rush these things in ANY story-especially with Luffy, where it is nearly impossible. Also, Hisoka (my OC) does seem Mary Sue at the start of this chapter. But that is cleared up quickly. I'm just trying to show how she is seen. Anyway, enough of my rambling, please read on!**

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"Hisoka-san, Hisoka-san!" A young woman gently turned her head to the side, smiling ever so softly at the grinning male that approached her side. His smile warmed her heart and widened her own. "How are you, Hisoka-san?"

"Have you not seen the sky outside?" she questioned happily. "It is a gorgeous day, how could I be anything less than ecstatic?" Gazing out one of her large widows for only a moment longer, Hisoka turned back to her friend. Her eyes filled with a gentle aura as she reached out and softly brushed her fingers through the young boy's hair. His hair was bright red, his eyes the color of a dead ocean. Only fourteen years of age, this boy had much to learn before he could become a man. Hisoka was the happiest girl alive to know she could spare him from the horrors of the world outside her Happy Island. "And the ones I cherish so deeply are smiling," she spoke. "You know how happy that makes me, Tara-kun."

Tara looked to the side to hide his pleased smile. She giggled gently at his shy showing of embarrassment. "I should be the one asking you how you are, Tara-kun. Why are you not out helping your papa? You know I would never turn you away, but you always seem so content working in the fields with him. Is there something troubling you, Tara-kun? Do you need my help?" Tara was tall for his age, looming over Hisoka's 5'5" height by one or two inches. He didn't have to bow his head to meet her eyes, though. He felt his chest throb gently when he focused his attention on her sweet eyes. He knew from looking into her true eyes before that their color was beautiful, much more beautiful than the color of the contacts she wore to cover them up. Of course, they were expertly colored to match the color of her eyes exactly, but nothing could ever compare to the real thing.

Hisoka had light brown hair that was gently curled, hanging voluminously over her shoulders. Wispy bangs gently brushed over her eyebrows. Her skin was a warm cream color and her cheeks were decorated with a gentle flush of pink. Yet, her eyes were the most beautiful part of her being. Anybody would agree. Their island was tiny, but it was Hisoka's most treasured place. It consisted of only several dozen villagers, but they were all as happy as could be. Of course, that was all Hisoka's doing.

"Tara-kun?" Hisoka urged gently when Tara paused.

Tara let out a loud laugh, shaking his head at her worried expression. "I'm fine, I'm fine, Hisoka-san! You know we always will be as long as we have you around." Hisoka responded with a soft smile. Those words always pleased her. "I came to inform you that it seems like we have visitors. They are coming in a large boat, and they are advancing pretty quickly. They look like pirates to us." Hisoka's smile fell for a split second before she regained her composure. "Please don't worry, though, Hisoka-san. We would never let them lay a hand on you. And there is only one ship, and it doesn't seem to be large enough to hold many men."

Hisoka nodded gently. "We should go greet them, then, shouldn't we? Come, Tara-kun, let us go." Tara grinned and nodded. It was always hard to tell what Hisoka was feeling deep down inside. It was easiest for the villagers to believe that she was always very happy and that the only thing that displeased her was anything that attempted to disrupt their island's happiness.

"Come on, Hisoka-san, I'll escort you!"

Hisoka laughed aloud. "What a gentleman you are, Tara-kun! You are sure to find yourself a wonderful wife."

"You think so?" Tara asked. Hisoka nodded enthusiastically. Tara offered his arm to her and Hisoka accepted it as they both allowed themselves to get lost in the joyous laughter.

Tara and his father had ventured to their island two years ago, right after Tara's younger sister and mother died of a disease that wiped out the majority of his town. Hisoka was sure she would never be able to forget the sight of them rowing up onto shore, a man in his thirties clutching a young boy in his arms, begging for the help of the saint that they had heard resided here. Tara was refusing to eat or drink. He wanted to go be with the rest of his family. The boy was pale, his cheeks were flushed, and his body was covered in a thick sweat. The sight was shocking. Hisoka cried for the first few nights they stayed here. Every day she would go and help him remember happiness, but each time it was never enough to last until morning. The sight broke her heart. She knew that it wasn't right to grant miracles with her power, to just bestow happiness upon them until they forgot all their troubles. No matter how much she wanted to make it so that the boy could smile immediately, she had to take it slow. People had to work through things like this. If they didn't, the pain would forever haunt them. After weeks of her therapy, the family of two was healed and settled down in her town. They were accepted with open arms. Everyone always was.

As they descended further into her town, they were halted by a surprising sight. A woman in her late fifties and a boy in his thirties were running towards them. The woman donned an apron over her forest green dress, the boy dressed in the causal waiter's uniform for the local diner. As they drew closer, Hisoka freed herself from Tara's grip and rushed towards them.

"Darla-san, Leeko-kun!" Hisoka found herself supporting a gasping Darla as Leeko only appeared to be slightly short of breath. Hisoka's heart clenched in her chest. Her two close friends weren't smiling. They were far from happy. "What's wrong? Please, speak to me, one of you." Her eyes widened as she wiped some sweat from Darla's brow. The woman was nowhere close to being in her top physical shape. "Please, don't stress yourself so much, Darla-san, I beg of you." Darla nodded, slowly returning to her normal composure, her plump cheeks calming their flush.

"Oh, Hisoka-san, there are pirates in the diner. They are speaking of you, as well." Darla reached up and swept back the hair that had fallen from her neat bun. "Oh, it's awful. I couldn't stand to be in the same building as them."

"We came to request permission to be rid of them, Hisoka-san," Leeko butted in. He reached out, giving Hisoka a thankful glance before removing his mother from her arms. "They are talking about rumors that have been spread about you, and they don't deserve to meet you."

"Leeko-kun, please keep a better eye on your mother. She can't strain herself so much, it is bad for her health." Hisoka brushed off her dress as she spoke to them, not making eye contact. Her heart trembled in her chest. She was avoiding his words—it was an act of weakness and worry.

"Hisoka-san, please listen to me. People like them shouldn't be on this island." Leeko knew he was speaking for many of the villagers that appreciated Hisoka so much.

"Don't be so hasty to say such things about others. Have they harmed anyone?" Hisoka crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke. She hated moments like these. She hated the things that they forced her to think of and the pain they made her endure. But, still, every expression that came on her face was accompanied by some type of soft smile. It was just normal.

"No, but their words are just—"

"Emotionally distraught people say cruel things, Leeko-kun. You and everyone else on this island should know that. But everyone deserves a chance at happiness." Leeko opened his mouth, his eyes narrowing, but Hisoka flicked her head to the side and stared at him. Her face wasn't angered, it never was, and her normal soft smile still remained. "Please, if you are still having issues, come to me later. I promise to explain things to you and anyone else. But, they may have come in search of happiness. I wish to share with them what I can. Not doing so would make me a selfish woman." Of course Hisoka didn't want to have to say those words. She wished, at times like these, that she wasn't this perfect being in the eyes of so many, because if she wasn't then she would have been able to dash into the diner and kick out all those that were disturbing her peace.

"N-Never, Hisoka-san! We would never think such things of you!"

Hisoka nodded earnestly towards Darla. She quickly turned around and eyed Tara. "Tara-kun, accompany me to the diner, if you wish. Either way, I must go. It's very important that we greet our visitors." They would think she was so happy to see these pirates, like they were close family friends. Her smile was always believable, even at times like these. But the heart that throbbed so furiously just beneath the cover her dress knew otherwise.

"H-Hisoka-san, I'm sorry, I didn't realize they would be here so quickly I–I–I…." Tara was hushed automatically when Hisoka turned around quickly and cupped his face in her hands, apply gentle force to make him look at her—to make him hear.

"Please, Tara-kun. You did nothing wrong. You shouldn't be feeling anything but happiness." Hisoka felt a sudden pain in her chest as her sentence cut short with her breath and she turned on her heels. She fled down the hill as quickly as she could with a knitted brow, one foot in front of the other, heels leaving imprints in the soft ground. As she rushed, her smile dropped. Nobody could catch a good look of her face at this time, she knew. She honestly wasn't sure what she was going to do when she met these people that were invading her island. She knew that it was wrong, but she was angry with them. They must have done something to make it so that her friends were approaching her with anything other than a smile and tales of happiness.

Hisoka didn't know what she would do if their happiness was interrupted. She never knew. So, as she ran, Hisoka ignored the shouts from some of the villagers she passed. It was only a few minutes, she knew, but she still felt horribly guilty for realizing that there were tears pooling in her eyes. She felt so horribly selfish for noticing how she wanted to reach out in front of her and grab the air to grasp for an answer as she ran far past the diner and far past everything. She was so thankful that she had enough willpower to keep these secrets from revealing themselves. If anyone ever saw her cry over something as tiny as this, Hisoka had no idea what she would do. Any error on her part was just something that couldn't be undone.

"Hey, what's wrong with all the people in here? They're all staring at us." The eyes of the speaker flicked around underneath pressed-down brows, jumping from glower to glower to glower. "Isn't everyone here supposed to be happy?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's what the rumors say."

"Maybe you got your information wrong, Zoro." The boy speaking stuffed more soup-soaked bread and chunks of meat down his throat and swallowed with a grin before responding. "Everyone here seems really angry! They look ugly to me."

"Idiot! Don't say such things out loud. We're not here to start fights with them. They haven't even served us all our food yet." The orange-haired woman obviously looked ready to lean over and smack the boy across the face, but tried to regain her composure. She didn't know what would send these glowers that surrounded them morphing into shouts of anger.

"Hey—wait, you're right!" It took him a second to realize that it was true, and he quickly grew frustrated. The dark-haired boy shoved more food down his throat before whining out, "I'm hungry!" A green-haired man, supposedly Zoro, scoffed. A boy with an extremely long nose suddenly turned his head after downing a large glass of water and finishing off his plate of fish.

"Hey, Zoro, tell us more about this girl."

"I don't know that much about her," Zoro grumbled nonchalantly, carelessly sinking into his seat and yawning. He seemed to be forcing the words forward, like he would much rather be sleeping than conversing with them. "Just what the rumors say."

"Come on, then, just tell us about the rumors," the long-nosed boy urged. "I don't mind them."

"You wouldn't, they're awfully similar to lies," the girl in the group commented as she worked to down the rest of her soup, having to nudge to away from the dark-haired boy when he reached out for it, yearning to fill the black hole that replaced his stomach.

Zoro rolled his eyes, eating some more of his meal before he shared what he knew, sounding as though he was reading from a script that he didn't care too much for. "They say that she can send an entire army of pirates to their knees with just one glance. Any man that looks into her eyes is doomed to never leave this island because he will become addicted to what happens to him once he does." Zoro took a few gulps of his drink before leaning back in the seat, allowing it to teeter on just the back legs. "They say she can make a person feel the devil's pleasure by looking them in the eyes. It's so extreme that they can't give it up. Then again, these are just rumors."

"How did rumors like _those_ start?"

"Maybe she just likes to have sex," the girl commented with a shrug of her shoulders, crossing her arms over her chest and resting against the back of her chair, having finished her meal. "Maybe she just knows how to use what she's got to get what she wants." The three boys that accompanied her turned their heads and stared at her, almost expecting her not to be serious. Before any of them could respond, a waitress approached and slammed a bowl of bread down on the center of their table.

"Please _excuse_ the _delay_ in your food, the chef will be _absent_ for a few _moments_." The woman's words were seeping with badly controlled anger. Her hands were shaking, her brow furrowed, her lips pressed tightly together. She seemed like at any second she would explode into pieces, maybe shatter like broken glass.

"Hey, lady, do you know where we can find the Devil-Pleasure Lady?" The waitress's eyes were almost bugging out of her head as she began to sweat after hearing his words. Her breath felt terribly hot in her mouth. Her trembling hands were tightening into fists at her sides. Similar rage seemed to be infecting everyone else in the diner. It was thick enough to suffocate.

"Luffy, why do you even want to find her?" the girl of the group asked.

"Well, I wanna figure out how that rumor started," Luffy said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "There has to be something interesting about her if there is a rumor like that. Especially if other people are after her, right?" The other three in his group nodded their heads slowly. It was the truth. Luffy gave them a grin some of them considered to be stupid and looked back to the seething waitress, "So, where is she? We know she lives here."

"How _dare_ you speak of—!" The waitress, who had finally let her anger slip, was cut off by a cheery, gentle voice and the sudden whispers of the rest of the people in the diner.

"H-Hisoka-san…."

"Hisoka-chan!"

"…H-Hisoka-san, welcome."

"Why does everyone look so distraught?" Hisoka entered the diner, a smile on her face that was bright enough to cause some of the people in the diner to smile softly at her. Her overflowing personality sliced right through the rage that filled the diner. Nobody ever would have guessed that she ran here as fast as she could. She was so calm, so cool, so collected—so familiar and right to them but strange and out of place to the pirates. She came to a stop next to the table filled with the newcomers. She glanced at them, her smile never faltering in the slightest. "Having visitors on our island is such a wonderful thing, we should all be overjoyed." Hisoka quickly turned to face the group of four. To show respect, she gently bowed her head.

"Thank you so much for coming to our island. We welcome you. It is quite rare for us to have to have such lively guests with such healthy appetites. My name is—"

"Hisoka-chan, Hisoka-chan!" Hisoka stopped her speech and turned around in a quick circle as two children rushed around her feet, clutching and hiding in the skirt of her dress. "Hisoka-chan, don't speak to them!" Two young boys and a younger girl were all begging to her in unison. Her smile diminished slightly, though it was still easily visible. "They're mean, Hisoka-chan, they'll be mean to you!"

"C-Children—"

"_No_, Hisoka-chan! No, they were calling you names, they're mean!" The little boy with blond hair stared up at Hisoka with begging eyes before turning to make faces at the group of visitors.

"Yeah, yeah, it was so bad! They're bad people! Let's leave!" The child with dark purple hair turned his head and glared at the group. He started to tug backwards on Hisoka's dress, scolding the group of four. "Don't even look at Hisoka-chan's eyes! You don't deserve to feel that nice!"

"They called you a Devil-Lady, Hisoka-chan! A _Devil-Lady_! They're mean, mean, mean! Let them just be mean by themselves, Hisoka-chan! Listen to Hukuko-kun, he's right, let's leave!" The little girl joined in on pulling at her dress. She turned and glared at the four before her. "Meanies!" she yapped. "Why did you even come here? Go away, we were all happy enough without—" Hisoka leaned down and picked up the little girl, running her fingers through her hair. The speech of the three children stopped, as did the tugging on her gown.

"You shouldn't say things like that, Eri-chan. You know better. Even if you do think that they are mean—"

The little girl cut her off by instantaneously bursting into hysterical tears. "They a-a-all get a ch-chance at h-happiness! I knowwww! But– But– But—They said—they said!" Suddenly, her words were cut off by a burst of movement from one of the strangers. Before Hisoka could say a single word, a boy with dark hair and a big mouth, who had a scar under his eye and wore flip-flops on his feet, was standing up and stretching his neck a little bit too far until he was staring directly into Hisoka's eyes. And all Hisoka did was stare right back. Stunning green and simple black collided. The whole diner was silent, aside from Eri's not-so-quiet sniffles. Everything was entirely still. The gentle smile on Hisoka's face grew in size, yet the expression on the boy's face never changed at all. It was unnerving, to say the least.

The silence that swept over the diner when Eri's sobs suddenly halted was shocking. But neither the boy nor Hisoka moved an inch. Suddenly, Eri let out a quick cry that caused Hisoka to flinch. Her lips parted to ask her what was wrong, yet she found it hard to withhold a grin from forming when, with a burst of energy, Eri reached out and slammed her tiny palms over the boy's eyes. "I said–I—I said—I said don't _look_!" Her words were struggling to be heard through her sobs, but they were audible enough to everyone. Hisoka took a step back from the male, taking Eri's hands with her as the diner erupted in soft waves of stifled laughter and dancing giggles. The children at her feet were laughing the hardest as Eri gripped Hisoka's shoulder tightly with a harsh pout. Hisoka glanced over her shoulder, seeing the child's mother standing behind her. Hisoka gladly handed Eri off to her mother before giving all of her attention back to the group.

"Eh, Zoro, that should have been long enough, right?" The boy who had stared her down was questioning the man with green hair. He responded with a shrug and a nod.

"So? How do you feel?" the one with an extremely long nose croaked.

"Disappointed!" the boy shouted with a frown. He turned and looked back at Hisoka, whose smile had never left. "Hey, if you're the girl, do the thing with your eyes. If not, then help us find her."

Hisoka laughed softly. "Who are you four, and what is ailing you so terribly that you don't believe you can find happiness on your own?"

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I'm going to be the next Pirate King, and I am working on finding my pirate crew. I'm not ailing at all, I just think that a power like the ones in the rumors sounds really cool and powerful, and that person should join my crew."

Hisoka nodded her head. "And the other three?"

"They're my pirate crew: Zoro, Nami, and Usopp. They're not ailing with anything, either."

"Well, I apologize." Though she was apologizing to them, the smile on her face still made Hisoka seem bright and cheery. It was considered creepy by the newcomers, but the rest of the residents would have gone into a horrible panic if her expression held anything other than content emotions. "I hope you enjoy your stay here on Happy Island, but following you and leaving this island is something I cannot commit to. You're certainly welcome to st—"

"Why not?" Luffy whined loudly, cutting her off without another thought. "We're all really strong! It'll be fun!"

"I have to stay here with my cherished people," Hisoka explained after letting out a silent sigh so she could regain the composure that he had cut off so rudely.

"How do we even know that you're really the rumored girl?" Zoro asked out indifferently.

"Yeah, Luffy said that nothing happened when he looked in your eyes. That doesn't match the rumors."

Still keeping up her smile, Hisoka explained, "It just doesn't work that way."

Luffy once again went to speak, but was interrupted by another child. "Mama, Mama, where's Eri? Mama?" Hisoka looked over her shoulder. The elder woman shook her head and yet another child quickly gave an explanation.

"Eri-chan said she was so angry at the big-eyed boy for saying mean things about Hisoka-chan that she was going to wreck his ship and take all of his treasure." Several shocks of loud, hearty laughter echoed through the diner.

"That little girl always was such a pick-pocket!" her mother howled happily.

"That little brat!" Nami shouted, standing to her feet and slamming her hands down on the tabletop. She turned her body towards the exit. "I don't care if she's a little girl, I worked hard for that—"

A sharp scream pierced the air around them. And for a second, the world froze. And after that second, Hisoka's smile was gone. When her smile vanished, it was as if the surface of this joyful island crumbled into a million pieces, revealing doubt, worry, and dread—terrible, knotted things that nobody was ever supposed to see. Things that weren't supposed to exist.

"T-That was Eri…." The mother could barely get out her words before she was running out the diner at full speed.

"What's going on?" Hisoka asked with a voice that could have been said to withhold something similar to anger.

"Oh, maybe that other pirate crew arrived," Zoro mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Hisoka gasped, focusing all of her attention on the group.

"Oh, why we came here. In the last town there was a group of pirates talking about how they were gonna prove the rumors wrong. I wanted to do it first!" Luffy grinned. Hisoka's eyes went wide and she feared that they caught a look at her dreadful expression.

"At which coast did you guys dock your boat?" Hisoka threw the question out so quickly that it was almost impossible to understand. As she spoke, she reached out and grabbed a knife from the table. She was quickly tearing off her dress at the knees using the knife, dropping the excess material to the ground, the metal clanking roughly with it.

"Northwest," Nami replied just as quickly.

"Thank you," Hisoka snapped as she stepped away from her dress. She began to rub at her eyes while they were still open, holding out her hands and staring down at the floor afterwards. Two tiny green circles were stuck to her palms. The waitress quickly grabbed them and dropped them gently into a cup of water. "I won't let our happiness be interrupted, I promise!" Hisoka's voice was as sincere as she could manage. She turned around and jolted out of the diner as fast as her heels could take her. Several men and the waitress followed her as well as a few women that were following their energetic children.

"This seems exciting, let's go!" Luffy cheered with a grin. His team quickly agreed, Zoro mumbling something about direction while Nami ranted silently about her treasure. The captain exited with a grin, but everyone else seemed to be treating this whole situation like it was a nightmare—or maybe like it was just reality.


	2. Exposure

Hisoka was gasping for breath. In the back of her mind, she was fretting over her shredded dress and her absent contacts, but her heart was throbbing in her chest for the safety of her cherished ones. It ached to remind her that she had to protect this island—she _had _to. She couldn't let them resort to violence. She couldn't let these pirates come and hurt her family! With a jerk of her head, she glanced up at the sky, her lips parted as she prayed to anything that would listen.

"Eri!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt the way the soles of her feet swelled in her shoes in protest to her abuse. She ignored the pain and the fair warnings. "Eri, answer me!" If anyone hurt the sweet little girl she had known from birth, Hisoka would never forgive herself or the pirates.

The sobbing cry that echoed through Hisoka's ears told her that the child was still alive. Her chest swelled with hope, but the shriek from the erratic mother caused a new dread to fill her heart. She saw the northwest coast approaching quickly, and she knew there was no way she could stop her feet now. One foot in front of the other before the previous even hit the ground—with the momentum built up would send her tumbling forward if she tried to stop. She felt people closing in around her, at her far sides, behind her, but her runway was clear, and that was all Hisoka could focus on right now. When she saw the older woman rushing down the hill that lead to the shore, Hisoka let out a yelp, her eyes bulging. With a sudden sprint that used up the majority of her energy, she jolted in front of the woman and shoved her to the ground without a single word or a single thought, her eyes squeezing shut. She just had to stop her—she couldn't let her get close to the pirates. Unfamiliar, boyish laughter from behind her clenched her heart tightly. She looked forward, seeing a gruesome man holding Eri up by one of her pigtails. Thoughts of her reckless actions were banished from her mind

"Eri!" Hisoka gasped.

"Hisoka-chan!" the child screamed. Hisoka's breath was pulled from her lungs in a shrill shriek as she, in a split second, found herself rolling down the hill after the heel on her boot snapped and her feet continued to throb. She heard the child scream again. She panicked, reaching her hands out wildly and gripping the long grass tightly in her fists. She managed to catch herself, gasping for air. Hisoka quickly opened her eyes and examined the ground that surrounded her tangled body. When her eyes landed on the feet of a man and she heard the cries of Eri right above her, Hisoka acted.

Reaching out and clinging to the leg of the pants he wore, Hisoka spoke with alarm, "T-Tell me why you have come to my island and why you are harming my cherished one!" The laughter that echoed through her wracked brain made her soul tremble. It was different from the boyish laughter before. It was evil and it made her sick. With a sudden jerk of the man's leg, Hisoka found herself violently kicked back several feet. She winced as pain radiated through her stiff legs.

"Well, why else would one come to Happy Island but to find the Devil-Pleasure Goddess? And don't think you can just touch me whenever you want, you little brat!"

It wasn't just his laughter. Even his voice made Hisoka's stomach churn. She heard footsteps rushing down the hill and voices ill with worry slammed together.

"Hisoka-san! Hisoka-san, are you harmed? Hisoka-san! Hisoka-chan! You bastard, get away from her! Eri-chan! Let go of that child! Hisoka-san, please, get up and run away from him! If you want to pick a fight, pick it with another man, you fool! You coward, only facing little girls! Hisoka-san, answer us!"

Hisoka felt the panic riding in her chest once again, hot and suffocating. She shot out her hand, still gasping for the air that was knocked out of her during her tumble down the hill. "Please, stop!" she shrieked. "We don't need violence! We don't need it! All of you, please, stop!" Hisoka's gasps and Eri's cries were the only things filling her ears when everyone finally listened to her pleas. Eri once again cried out her name, begging her, desperate and lost. The laughter that followed made it hard for Hisoka to not the empty the contents of her stomach on his shoes.

On top of the hill, many of the residents of this village resided, including the four visitors. Luffy had a slightly hardened expression as he asked out, "What is she doing, surrendering?"

"Why the hell is everyone listening to her?" Zoro questioned with hints of anger.

"What is she thinking…?" Nami mumbled. She lost her concern and interest for the girl quickly, focusing on something else with new emotions. She shook her head and snapped, "If that girl lets any of my treasure get into the hands of that pirate, I'll go down there and deal with this myself!"

"She should be running away!" Usopp commented as he tried unsuccessfully to hide his shaking knees. The pirate crew down below consisted of at least thirty or forty men. They had no idea how many more were on the ship, which was more than twice the size of Luffy's. Anybody would be frightened for the unarmed girl down on her knees before the captain.

Their prying questions and unwelcome comments were brought to a sudden end. "Just stop," an old man standing behind them demanded. His gray hair was wrapped back in a bandana, his clothing covered in grass and dirt stains. His hardened eyes were surrounded by gentle wrinkles, and his hands were calloused. His muscles were tensed and he drew in a steady breath when they all looked at him. He continued, "Don't speak about her—about _us_—ever again. Don't question her. Don't do anything. Not until you know her the way we do."

"And why would we listen to you, old man?" Luffy casually asked in a carefree tone.

"You guys don't understand who she is to us. To you, she may be the rumored pleasure goddess with the power of the devil, but to us, she…she is our _saint_. She always has been, even before she ate the Devil Fruit."

"She ate a Devil Fruit?" Luffy inquired, suddenly more interested, his head perking up.

The old man telling the tale nodded. He sent them each cautious gazes, his eyes flicking down to the teen on her knees, distraught and almost shaking. He sighed before continuing on in a softer voice, meant only for them, although he seemed to be retelling the tale to himself. "Ever since she was a very small child, all Hisoka ever wanted to do was make everyone else happy. It was her only wish. After her parents passed, Hisoka felt powerless to make everyone else smile. She hated it. She would go around town doing odd jobs that everyone else hated doing and then she would go home and throw fits. One day, about four years ago, some of our merchants returned home with a Devil Fruit. Everyone knew what it was, and it didn't take long for everyone to get into a huge argument about who would eat it or who would sell it. The fight went on for days. A fight had never lasted that long here before—at least not one that large. Everyone forgot about Hisoka. Nobody cared about her—they only cared about the god damned fruit. But she didn't forget everyone else. She hated seeing everyone so angry. It was decided that whoever ate the fruit would protect this island forever. Well, while we were all fighting over it, Hisoka climbed inside the merchants' ship, found the fruit, and ate it herself. She always took everything into her own hands, you see? She then climbed out and told the whole town that she had taken care of the problem and that everyone could stop fighting now, that they could all go back to smiling because she ate the fruit herself and she was going to be the best protector of this island. Some men grew furious and went to grab her. They wanted her to throw it up. But the second they looked in her eyes…Well…." The old man's expression grew solemn as he shook his head and reached up to run a hand through his hair, ready to stop the memories.

"What, what? What happened?"

The old man glared at Luffy's curious expression, holding his breath for a moment as his negative emotions stirred within him. He eventually deflated slightly, letting out a sigh, his hardened eyes wilting. "It's just that I can't possibly explain to you how it must have felt. The sight itself was shocking. They all just fell down sobbing and grinning and begging. It scared poor Hisoka to death. She was just a kid—she still is. She learned how to control it after a while, then we got her the contacts, and now she makes sure everyone on this island is happy and she keep others from harming us, just like she promised. She does everything she wants, but she never should have—_well_. What I'm trying to say is just what you can't see. …She truly is our saint." The old man crossed his arms over his chest, but he didn't even try to hide the tears that pooled in his eyes, a couple overflowing. "Seeing her like this, it's just…." He shook his head and tried to steady his breathing.

"That little girl down there—the one you call some devil woman—she is the best protector we ever could have asked for, and she is the most precious girl you'll ever meet. She hates it when anyone gets hurt or hurts others, which is why she refuses to use violence. I don't believe the power she was granted has the ability to harm others, she most certainly never has, but…she seems to solve all our problems with happiness. All of them." The old man reached up and wiped at his face. "You know, we all hate you. Except for Hisoka, everyone on this island hates you. You just came here and you strolled in and you started to talk about all of those disgusting rumors, talking about them loudly and openly and forcing them in our faces. People seem to think she is some prostitute or that her eyes can only grant sexual pleasure, but that's not true. That's the _farthest_ thing from truth I have ever heard. So when people come here, trying to take her away from us or trying to defeat her or _use_ her, it makes us so angry. But she always smiles in the end and deals with everything on her own, and she makes us feel like we never should have been angry at all, but we keep getting angry anyway. Because she's ours. We would all risk our lives for her, but I think she would risk her life much more quickly."

The story was cut off by Hisoka's voice. The brunette finally regained her breath, but her words were rough. "Please, just let the child go, and then I will give you the pleasure of the devil! I promise you that!"

"You guys came here to see her power, right?" the old man asked the group.

"Yeah," Luffy responded, his voice dull.

"Well, watch. You'll see. …You'll see." The four looked at the old man, but his eyes were glued to the scene below.

"Hah! And why should I, Captain Shinkotu, listen to some little crying girl like you?" the sickening voice asked.

"Please!" Hisoka begged. There was silence. Then a soft chuckle, which rippled through the sea of men behind the captain and grew in volume as all the pirates chimed in. That laughter was sliced in half and then intensified by Eri's sudden scream.

"T-That hurts! That hurts! Ow, ow, ow! Stop, stop, _STOP_! Ahhhhh! AHHHH!" Green eyes widened beyond their limits. An aching heart clenched. Hisoka lost control of her actions, and she immediately gazed up at the scene above her, her eyes practically glowing beneath a knotted brow. Her stomach roughly knotted as blood dripped down the sides of Eri's tear-covered face to the ground as the man squeezed her hair tight enough to rip out locks.

"Eri-chan!" Hisoka shouted. Distraught eyes darkened with fury and she shot her gaze to the captain. "You bastard!" she screamed at the man, climbing to her feet, dragging her weak body up, using the fabric of his outfit as leverage. "If you want to feel the pleasure of the devil," she seethed dangerously, "then _fine_!" A smile yearned to pull her lips up, but she held to back. Her words darkened. "Look at me," she commanded. "Look at me! LOOK AT ME!" When he didn't listen, she boldly reached up and squeezed the sides of his face tightly with both of her hands, thrashing his head in her direction. Finally, the man did listen. His face was disgusting. Tears loomed in Hisoka's eyes, but tears were automatically falling down the man's face when he saw her eyes. She pulled her hands away from his face as though it were infectious before slamming her palms over his eyes, digging her nails into his flesh until blood dripped down her arms. "Let her go right now or you won't _ever_ feel that _ever_ again!" The child fell to the ground that instant. "Eri-chan, run back to your mother, quickly, quickly! I'll make these men go away, just go!" Eri cried out Hisoka's name once more before running up the hill, her mother meeting her halfway.

Hisoka lifted up her palms, allowing the man to stare into her eyes once again. He dropped to his knees, his mouth falling open. Hisoka kneeled before him. He was trying to make noise, but his voice was stolen. Only whimpers could be heard. "Do you like that?" Hisoka whispered, her voice an unnerving mixture of resentment and delicate inquiry. She normally wasn't like this. This wasn't the normal routine. Yet, they had never hurt her cherished one before. Her hands tightened into fists. She had never let that happen before.

"P-Please," the man begged. "Please, please, please!" His voice was still stuck in a whisper.

A growl surfaced in her throat. "Do you think that feels good—do you?" The man just sobbed. Her brow trembled and her emotions morphed, her voice growing calm and sympathetic. "…You looked so strong before, too. Is this what you were expecting?" Hisoka wasn't even paying attention to his reaction. He looked so happy, in such a far off heavenly land. It made her feel sick and happy at the same time. Tears continued to slip down his face as he grinned to the point where it looked like the corners of his lips would split.

"…You can be happy too, you know," she mumbled to him, her voice entirely soft. He sobbed quietly. She didn't even hear the calls of the men that still surrounded her.

"What did she do to Captain? He's crying! I think he wet himself! What has she done? What kind of power does she have? What is she doing to him? He is the strongest we know! And he's on his knees before her! Is that the power of the devil? I want to feel it, too! Me too! Don't you think it would be nice? Look, he's smiling! Me too!"

Dazed, Hisoka looked away from the captain, who just crumbled to the ground with her absence. The sight of forty men running towards her instantly froze her. She almost forgot how to breathe. Her world slowed down with her thoughts. This wasn't something she could overcome on her own without experiencing some pain. She wouldn't die, there wouldn't be serious injuries, but she may get hurt, possibly even humiliated. Terrible emotions that made her want to run surfaced within her. Her eyes widened, and the world slowly caught up with her. She slowly crawled backwards, panicking as she tried desperately to stare all of them in the eye at once—trying to fix the outcome of her errors. It wasn't working. Some of the men stopped and cried, but when she looked away it only took them a few seconds to advance on her further. And while they were frozen, it didn't stop the men behind them from climbing over them. They were closing in on her, and fast. Hisoka would never admit she was scared.

She had used up a lot of her power on the captain. The adrenaline that had over-powered her eyes was diminishing. She had faith if she had trained this power often enough, she could knock them all unconscious with a single glance from yards away. She could even overwhelm them to the point of death. Hisoka rarely put her power to use, though. If she added together all the time she actually used it, it was as if she had only had the power for less than three weeks, not four years.

She could hear the captain mumbling on the ground, begging for her return, and it put a tiny crack in her heart. She had turned such an evil man into a tiny crying baby—a baby that was saying it needed her. She let out a gasp, her eyes going wide when men started to grab onto her shoulders and tug her towards them. She couldn't hold back the sudden scream.

"W-What's going on?" That question was running through the sea of people on top of the hill like crazy.

"Everyone, please listen to me!" Hisoka screamed as loudly as she could, her entire body tensing when she realized her slip. She had to fix this. She could still do that. Men were falling on top of her, yet those that got close enough to her eyes found themselves easily pushed away and trampled by other men as they laid on the ground and panted and smiled as they experienced the aftershocks of pure bliss. It was hard to keep count, but she was sure she had gotten rid of almost ten of them by now. The feelings of the grimy men crawling all over her body made her want to run into a shower and scrub the skin raw. She knew that she would do just that the second she got a chance.

"I-Ignore me!" she cried to her cherished ones. "Go back to town, all of you! Please, please! Please!" Hisoka cut herself off with another panic-filled scream that she failed to hush as she found herself kicking her legs rapidly as someone started to let their fingers crawl up her calves. She felt her foot collide with something and the feeling stopped. Three other men were down now, but there were still so many more. "I'll be fine!" she shrieked. "Don't worry at all! They'll be gone soon and it will all be okay, so just go, just go!"

"Oh god. I can't even see her anymore! It's like she's covered by them! Oh god, oh god! We should listen to her! No, we should help her! We can't leave her alone! If we go down there, we could hurt her!" The voices of all the panicking villagers combined into of long stream of dread.

"Why did anyone let her go down there in the first place?" Zoro snapped, suddenly drawing out one of his swords. "I don't care what she says, she doesn't have much of a defense down there."

"T-The most Hisoka-san has dealt with is twenty men—they generally all back off when their captain starts screaming and crying. They don't wait around to see if it's in pleasure or pain. This normally doesn't happen, something must have gone wrong," the old man explained with a worried voice. "She won't die, that's impossible. You can already see the number of men she has taken down, but she will have to put up with that for a while longer until she can get rid of all of them." His worried tone vanished as he said strongly to the visitors and himself, "Don't you underestimate her. She's stronger than you think."

"_But_ I bet that if we save her, we can ask her to join our crew again! Would you deny after that?"

"Whatever!"

"I'm going to go secure the treasure!" Nami was the first to take off down the hill. Zoro followed her. Usopp seemed to be readying his slingshot, which he expertly aimed at the already fallen men, who were still conscious and groaning. He knocked them out easily, cheering about how he could take on all the men. Such proclamations didn't have as much power, seeing as how he was so far away from them. Hearing Hisoka cry out once more, there was a quick dash of movement above them, and three quarters of the men on top of her were thrown backwards, blood spilling from their mouths and their wounds.

The shock of that sudden change left Hisoka open to several other men climbing on top of her. She quickly looked back to them, and they cried out, collapsing helplessly. She heard a sudden cry, but she couldn't focus, let alone understand what was happening. Her heart stampeded within her, trying to get away from her and her mistakes. Fight or flight.

"Leave the rest to me! Gomu-Gomu no PISTOL!" Hisoka's breath left her body as a fist soared over her body, taking the remaining dozen men atop her with it. Her eyes spun. Her back hit the ground. Her shock made it hard to breathe. She was left free of all bodies and staring up at the bright blue sky. She blinked dumbly. Just this morning, she gazed at this sky and allowed it to warm her soul and her smile, yet now she was gazing at it and fighting the urge to let tears pour down her cheeks. She didn't even have to look up to know what she would see. Violence and bloodshed were the only things that could have ended her battle so easily. Violence. _Bloodshed._ Hearing loud footsteps approach her, Hisoka closed her eyes as tightly as she could, praying her tears wouldn't show themselves.

"Hey, hey, did you see that? You're all good now! You know, that was cool, the way you handled that captain dude. You need to fight for things like that! Because you're such a good person, I insist you join my pirate crew!" Hisoka couldn't even listen to him properly. She just forced a smile on her face and nodded slowly, her laughter escaping her lips softly in an attempt to cover up her sobs. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Feeling hands suddenly pinching her cheeks and stretching them out, all Hisoka could do was squeeze her eyes closed tightly and shake her head from side to side. "You should say something, I'm talking to you. Why don't you open your eyes?"

Hisoka gritted her teeth and flung her head to the side, freeing herself from his grip and rolling over onto her stomach as her tears finally overflowed, hidden from the view of any others. "I'm trying to talk to you! Did you get hurt, or do you just like putting your face in sand?"

"Is it safe to go down there? Can we? Hisoka-chan! Are you okay? We want to come see you! Hisoka-chan! Hisoka-san! We're coming, just wait!"

Hisoka froze, her eyes going wide, her misery momentarily forgotten. She couldn't let them see her like this. She just couldn't. It would be so shameful. They would think it was their fault, they would feel guilty. They would never be able to feel as happy as they did before, and it would be her fault. She couldn't let them see her cry. Hisoka hated feeling this terribly desperate.

"Hey, she alive?" Zoro asked as he approached. Hisoka winced as she felt someone poke the back of her head several times.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed onto the fabric of Luffy's pants, never looking at him but knowing it was him once she spotted his flip-flops. "I will give your offer the proper consideration on one condition." Her voice was strained. It didn't sound happy like it always did, but it didn't sound sad, either. It was bland, and it was taking all of her energy to make sure it stayed that way.

"Only consider it? That's a cheap bargain!"

"It's more than I normally would have done," she confessed.

"Fine, fine!" he whined. "But it better be really generous consideration."

"Yeah, sure," she breathed.

"What's your condition, then?"

When the brunette's eyes widened at the realization that her tears were suddenly falling forth again, she buried her faced in the sand, biting down on her lip with shame. "P-Please keep them from coming down here. Don't let them get close to me—make them go back to town. Just get my contacts from Ringo-san and make them all go back to the town."

"Ehhh? That's it?" he crowed.

"Tell them I'm sleeping, that I'm tired but safe. Don't let them believe that I am harmed at all. Okay?"

Luffy paused. "You're a weird girl." Hisoka remained silent, giving his comment no response at all. "But okay!"

"Wait a second, wait a second!" Luffy cried carelessly, getting to his feet and walking away from Hisoka, leaving her hand to fall limply to the floor. She quickly drew it to her chest and curled tightly into a ball, allowing the sand to absorb her tears. She felt weak and terrible for letting them escape. It was so selfish of her. "Nobody can come down here!" Luffy continued to instruct the crowd.

"What, why not?"

"Because if you do she won't join my pirate crew! Give me her contacts and just go back to town. She's safe, she just wants to sleep on the beach. Ehhh? What? I don't know why!" Hisoka shrunk her head further into her shoulders and blocked out the rest of the noise. Several minutes later, she felt the familiar poking on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, weird girl, they're all gone now and we have your contacts! You should wake up!" His child-like laughter warmed Hisoka's heart gently. She has already forced her tears to come to a stop. She lifted herself up slowly, wiping the remaining liquid from her cheeks as she did so, keeping her head bowed. Luffy wasted no time in jumping to his point. "So, have you considered it yet? Are you gonna join?" Hisoka laughed softly, carefully bringing herself into a sitting position. You couldn't tell she had been crying. Her eyes remained closed.

"Are they all dead?" she asked calmly. The fact that her lips were still resting in a gentle smile was surprising to even her.

"What? Well, they aren't going to be getting up anytime soon. Probably some of them," he stated bluntly.

The brunette's shoulders tensed and she turned her head away from him gently. "I don't think I could join such a violent organization," Hisoka murmured quietly.

"All pirate crews fight, you know! We gotta be, to get where we want! We don't beat up the good guys, anyway. And we always win, 'cause we're strong!" Luffy spoke as if his argument was as solid as a rock. Hisoka's smile twitched as her brow wrinkled.

"Aren't pirates normally considered to be the bad ones?" Hisoka questioned, her voice still soft, but not to the point where she would be considered weak.

"Yeah, so?" Luffy immediately replied, his voice practically booming over her softened tone. "What do you say? Have you thought it over yet?"

Hisoka was quiet for several moments. Though her eyes were only closed so she could have a normal conversation without burying her face in the sand, Hisoka knew that she wouldn't want to open them even if her contacts were in. There had to be blood around her. She had to look like a wreck. Everything had to be a mess. "I'm not very fit to be a pirate."

"I say you are, so you are!" Luffy's ways of logic made it easier for her to keep a smile on her face, but the brunette didn't take any initiative to respond.

A new voice entered the conversation. "Hey, why aren't you opening your eyes?" Hisoka took a moment to recognize who was speaking.

"It's hard to have a normal conversation without my contacts in, Usopp-san." Her voice was louder, less timid.

Luffy snorted. "Why don't you just put your contacts in, then? You made me go through the trouble of figuring out who was Ringo and getting her to give them to me, after all."

"…I will," Hisoka commented quietly. "There is just something I have to deal with before I can do that." She moved her hands, pressing them into the sand, readying her tired body to lift it off the ground. She asked calmly, "Is the captain still alive?"

"YES! But I knocked him out good! Captain Usopp, the strongest man of the sea, has got your back!" Usopp cheered, laughing loudly at his self-declared wonder.

"Hey, I'm the captain!" Luffy snapped, jerking his head to look at the sniper with playful upset.

Hisoka's smiling expression never changed in the slightest. She bowed her head and raised her voice further to avoid sounding muffled. Her eyes fluttered open and she lifted a hand to rest on her brow so that she could shield her eye, from the sun and any lines of peripheral vision. It took her a while to get to her feet, and once she did, she turned around as hesitantly as possible. Her stomach knotted and riled within her, pressing further inside of her, trying to force her away from what it didn't want to see. She ignored it all. She walked with a slight limp, trying to deal with the broken heel on her boot as best she could. Her secretly shameful walk of silence was cut by another voice.

"What're you looking for?" Her walk never faltered. She was happy for the interruption of the judging silence. Hisoka had trouble remembering the name of the speaker quickly, but she recognized him as the swordsman.

"Captain Shinkotu," she responded, her voice still in that same bland tone. Her expression relaxed, although they couldn't tell. Her brows pressed down on her bright eyes as she asked out in a breathy voice, the soft, sad smile on her face growing, "Do you remember his actions? He almost ripped out all of Eri-chan's hair and he probably would have wrecked our village and damaged our happiness if we hadn't shown up."

"He sure is a bastard," Zoro grumbled. "People like him aren't worth mercy."

Hisoka's movements paused when he voiced his opinion, but she continued on steadily when she regained her composure. "I understand," she said, "You wouldn't be hurting the same person, though."

"Huh? He looks the same to me. Does he have a twin or a clone?" Luffy questioned. His question was ignored.

"You keep saying that you are against violence, but this violence could have saved your town all that trauma of watching you get covered and harassed by men. It would have taken them all out in just a few seconds. No matter how you look at it, it's much more efficient than your current way of protection," Zoro insisted, his eyes spanning the beach to look over his handy work.

Hisoka mumbled softly under her breath before clearing her throat and sighing. "Maybe it would all come to an end quicker, but…. I like the results of my method better. Much better. It serves my whole town, in the end. So what if I have to suffer humiliation and panic to get there—it's not like I will die. And if my town had just listened to me, they wouldn't have had to see something that could possibly traumatize them. I could have achieved the same results as you did with several more minutes, and there wouldn't be blood covering my beach, and my island wouldn't be upset at all."

Not giving the swordsman any time to respond to her, Hisoka fell to her knees suddenly, having finally located the body. With a bruise on his forehead, tears on his cheeks, and a grin spread across his face, it was a sight to behold—one that stirred many emotions. Hiding them well, Hisoka gently reached out and cupped his face. Her smile grew sincere.

"S-S-Stop! He may w-w-wake up!" Usopp suddenly exclaimed, jumping forward and waving his hands wildly.

"Oh, losing faith in your knockout?" Zoro joked.

"O-Of course not! I have been doing this for three decades; my aim and talent have won me countless rewards!" Usopp argued, pushing himself back from the girl and puffing out his chest as though those actions would raise his credibility.

"Do you want to meet the type of men you just killed?" Hisoka whispered quietly.

"We already met them! Do you have bad memory?" Luffy questioned in his same loud voice. Hisoka refused to reply as she calmed her mind slowly. She finally had control over her emotions—over her eyes—again. She was finally ready to finish off the threat.

Hisoka allowed her fingers to gently stroke the rough skin that covered his face. She felt the bumps of old scars and the prickles of a day old shave. "Captain Shinkotu, Captain Shinkotu, it's time to wake up." Hisoka gently moved his head from side to side. "Wake up, Captain, wake up." Hisoka's heart shivered in its chamber, but her eyes remained calm. She felt like a mother tending to her child. That is always what she reduced these men to.

"Heyyy, ugly faceee! Wake upppp!" Luffy yelled, leaning closer to the girl and her enemy. Hisoka had to restrain from looking over her shoulder and scolding him for interrupting her. Yet, his loud voice was enough to stir the captain. Hisoka quickly spoke again to keep Luffy from aggravating him, moving closer to his face, hoping her voice would create a chamber just for them—one these visitors couldn't destroy.

"Captain Shinkotu, how do you feel?" she inquired. The man let out a loud groan, muttering about his head hurting as he tried to move. "Look at me, Captain. Look at me," Hisoka urged. The man listened to her voice, and once their eyes met, the anger on his face vanished into a look of tranquility. She found it unnecessary to force her smile to remain, for it could do so on its own when faced with such an expression. He smiled right back at her, seemingly speechless. She informed him slowly and gently, as though she cared about him greatly and wanted her words to last longer, "You made it to your destination, Captain. You found me, the rumored girl you were looking for. You succeeded. Aren't you proud?" The man nodded slowly. It was like he was in a dream. Hisoka blinked, her smile unaffected. "But, I'm not too happy, Captain. You hurt my feelings and my cherished people. You hurt them badly." The man's expression slowly started to change. Hisoka continued, "Do you remember what you did to Eri-chan, the small child? Do you recall her cries, the way she begged for you to stop? Don't you remember how sad we both were?"

The man's faced was still relaxed, but his smile morphed into a frown and his eyes filled with tears. He found it was hard for him to withhold any emotion. "Y-Yeah," he said to her.

As Hisoka's smile became melancholy, she questioned, "Wasn't that wrong of you? Don't you feel bad?" The man's eyes filled with tears. "You can tell me what you're thinking."

"How could I hurt such a little girl?"

A silent sigh of relief left Hisoka's lip. "Yes, yes, you understand, right? You know how wrong what you did was." The man nodded again. "That's good. Do you remember how you felt when you looked at me before? You were so overjoyed. You can feel that on your own, without my help, as long as you never, ever hurt someone like that ever again. You also must apologize to Eri-chan and accept the consequences of your actions." Another nod, this one more intent. "You can rest here on my island for a few days, if you wish. But I have a favor I must ask of you when you recover."

"I—I feel fine, honestly. I can do whatever you need me to right now," he insisted.

Hisoka shook her head, a kind look filling her eyes. "No, that is fine. You must rest, and there is something you have to deal with before you are healthy enough to leave this island and find happiness as a changed man. It will be hard, but if you're strong, you can overcome it." He nodded hesitantly as Hisoka's smile fell almost completely. Her shoulders slumped forward as her heart clenched, making her suffer for having to deliver this news—for allowing these things to have happened. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the pain this will cause you. I never meant for it to work out this way. But… many of your men won't recover. They were threatening the safety of my island, I apologize." Hisoka paused to stroke his cheek with her thumb soothingly, idly. "You do have a few left, I believe, and you are still alive." The man didn't nod. He just stared at her. He wasn't smiling. "If you don't let yourself feel your emotions, you will be unable to find that bliss I showed you earlier. Do you want to go without that feeling forever?"

Nami suddenly leapt from their ship with an angered expression on her face, but she froze when she saw the scene in front of her. Her eyes widened, wiping away her previous expression. Her three crew mates watched in silence as Hisoka held Captain Shinkotu in her arms and he burst into hysterical sobs. She slowly patted his head and soothed him as best she could. "I know, I know, that's it, that's it. Just cry. Cry yourself to sleep. We can discuss more when you awake. I promise you will see me again in the morning. Just remember what you felt like when you look at me. Never forget it, ever, for as long as you live." It only took the man, practically twice the size of this small girl kneeling next to him, a few seconds to fall asleep in her hold. Once his sobs quieted completely, Hisoka let out a loud sigh and slowly allowed his limp body to slip out of her arms and gently lay on the beach.

"Do you see?" she asked, staring down at the empty space her arms now held. As she continued to speak, she stood to her feet, her back facing the crew. "All the remaining men will be like this when they wake up. If things had continued to go my way, I would have been left with forty crying old men that I could have sent off happily to live a good life and possibly do favors for me along the way."

"So? That just leaves you with a bunch of leftovers that you have to deal with. Look at him, he's a basket case. He can't go on adventures anymore when he's like that."

Hisoka tightened her hands into fists at her sides, bowing her head again so she could allow herself to grit her teeth. She held out her hand to the side, palm facing the sky until someone finally gave her the glass with her contacts. She emptied the contents into her other hand, waiting for all the water to be absorbed into the sand below. "…I suppose I understand where you are coming from," she grumbled. She sounded completely deadpan. She was trying her hardest to grind away all of her oncoming anger between her teeth before it could seep into her voice. She expertly put her contacts back in, wiping her hands on her dress as she waited for them to adjust. She grimaced as she heard Nami approach, Usopp questioning where she had been all this time.

"I looked through our entire ship, and I don't know how it's possible, but that brat took at least a handful!" Nami snapped. "I don't care what you say—I'm not leaving this island until I get every jewel and coin back!" Some of her crew members laughed.

"Hey, hey, did you hear that, Hisoka? That pigtail girl took some of our treasure! You should join my crew to compensate."

"I-I'll have to sleep on it," Hisoka gasped as a response. Only seconds earlier, her knees had suddenly started to twitch, aching to hit the ground. She hadn't expected herself to be this exhausted. She hadn't felt such boiling anger inside of her in quite some time. It was draining her of her normal façade and energy. "Please have Hiro-san come down here and fetch me and the surviving men. Make sure he boards up the rooms of all the men tightly, although he should already know that."

"Eh, eh? Come fetch you? What are you talking about?"

Hisoka's first response wasn't one she expected herself to give. With a short, quiet shriek, she lost her balance, ungracefully collapsing onto her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth tighter. This emotion brewing inside of her, which was something far from happiness, was unbearable. It was throwing her left and right. It was filling her with urges that she hated more than anything. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't make them go away. She couldn't look in her own eyes. "Hey! Are you dying or something? That's not a good idea!"

"I'm just resting. Those men were heavy. They tired me out," she griped.

"Oh, really?"

"T-There's just one last thing, though, before you leave to get Hiro-san…."

"Why are you assuming we're just going to go find him?"

Something inside of the brunette snapped. It was something she hadn't felt come to life and explode within her in a long time—something she hadn't missed in the least. Hisoka snapped her eyes open. She was happy her contacts were in, but that was about the only thing she was happy for. This living, breathing, dying, reviving, burning emotion within her—it was so unbearable that tears pooled in her eyes once again. She drew in a deep breath and shouted as loud as she could, failing pathetically at remaining composed, and not caring in the least. "_Never _look down on people experiencing the bliss of that I give them ever again!"

Silence was the only response she received. She exhaled roughly as parts of her fought to get up and yell more, to be angry and angrier and angrier until they left her island, until they left her life, but instead she just gave up her hold on consciousness. She hated that she showed them what she did. Nobody should ever have to see her anger. Her anger shouldn't even exist.


	3. Repairs

Dreams were strange things for her. While she slept, haunted by staggered dialogue and blotchy visuals that she was sure were out of order.

_"Papa! Papa! I'm back with some flowers for Mama! " _

_A man with black hair, sitting in a chair, hunched forward, broken and messy. His head in his hands and his face all wet. _

_"Papa, no, no! H-Here, take these flowers, Mama can have other ones, I'll go get them now!" The little girl just threw the flowers at him gently when he wouldn't take them. The petals would fall around him and make his tears go away, like in a fairy tale. _

_ "Hisa…" A rough, large hand on her head. "Oh, Hisa…" Her neck shrunk into her shoulders, her eyes widening. "Darling, I…" She suddenly got really sad. She suddenly really wanted to cry. Where's Mama? Where's Mama? Where's Mama, Papa? Where's Mama? "No, darling, no…" No—no, where's Mama? She's just in the kitchen, right? She's just in the kitchen. _

_ The hand on her head moved down and cradled her body, lifting her up, ignoring objections. When she went unheard, she just clung to him desperately, confused and afraid and asking nonstop—where's Mama where's Mama where's Mama. "I can't say this…" Say what, say what? Where's Mama, where's Mama. The hold tightened. His hand pressed her head into his shoulder. "Be tough, okay, Hisa? Just be tough." _

_ "Why are you so sad, Papa?"_

_ Silence. So much silence. So much confusion. "Be tough." "Be strong." "Be a solider." Silence. Silence. Suffocation. _

_ "Your mother's dead, Hisoka." _

_ "B-But Mama said…. Mama said…. She's… She's just in the kitchen! M-Mama said!"_

_ The hold became painfully tight. The child cried out briefly. Monsters were crawling in the room, out from under every crevice, oozing from the walls, eyeing her, threatening her, taking away her everything. "You should have been—" _

"Hisoka-san? Hisoka-san, please, w-what's wrong?" The voices, the visuals, the dream itself shattered and vanished all at once—sucked away from her with her breath. The young woman lying in her bed, tossing and turning to the point where her blankets were strewn from her mattress, opened her eyes quickly and drew in several shallow breaths. Her head thrashed as she looked around the room, trying her hardest to distinguish reality. She suddenly calmed, reaching up and grabbing her sobbing heart. She was in a different room than that little girl. Her eyes closed, hidden tears rushing forth. She was so blessed. "Hisoka-san? Are you ill?"

"H-Huh?" The young lady turned her head to the side, gazing up at the worrying elder woman with wide eyes. A kind grin found its place on her face instantly. She reached up and brushed the hair out of her eyes, reluctantly releasing her clutch on her chest. Her heart was still crying. She should have comforted it for a while longer, but instead she ignored it and chose to comfort the woman that awoke her.

"You looked like you were having a fit," the woman confessed nervously.

Hisoka shot up in her bed, shaking her head and waving her hands before her. "Oh, oh, no, Chisoya-san! Please, don't worry about me! I'm just a little achy. My body was probably just trying to find a comfortable position while I was asleep. Please, don't worry one bit." The grin on Hisoka's face was something that Chisoya couldn't doubt.

"Oh, yes, that must have been it." Chisoya let out a thankful sigh, wiping some sweat from her brow. "I'm so relieved!" She let out a kind chuckle, backing up slightly and wrapping her arms around herself in a warm hug as Hisoka slowly swung her legs out from under the blanket.

The brunette quickly stood from her bed, straightening out her clothing. Her hands ran slowly over the torn up hem of her dress. She would have to fix that later. As she moved to look around her room for her spare boots, she spoke softly, "How long I been asleep? Are the visitors still here?"

"Oh, yes, most certainly. Their presence is hard to ignore! The monkey-child is ranting on and on about you joining his pirate crew. It is giving us quite a laugh!" Chisoya laughed out loudly, emphasizing that fact. They would never believe him, though, no matter how confident he sounded. It was such an absurd idea. "You slept soundly the whole night. We are all very pleased. When the monkey-child came back carrying at least a dozen men, and that swordsman was holding you, we were all so surprised!" Hisoka almost missed the details as the kind woman spoke on, but she caught the out-of-place words at the last second. Her eyes widened and a silent, surprised gasp fled from Hisoka's lips. Standing up straight and turning around quickly to face the woman, only wearing one of her new shoes, her brows were wrinkled with discomfort. She quickly corrected her expression, letting the corners of her mouth tilt upwards and forcing her muscles to relax. She tilted her head in the same direction Chisoya had hers tilted.

"You mean they didn't fetch Hiro-san?" Hisoka asked in a calm, curious voice.

Chisoya hollered with laughter once again. "Oh, Hiro approached the boy—I mean, we all know he is generally the one that carries the men back. But that boy said that you were questioning his strength—he kept saying something about how he would never disregard a challenge. He was so energetic! And that long-nosed one was telling tales of how he once carried a hundred men over a mountain back and forth all night long."

Blinking rapidly, Hisoka laughed softly, reaching down and slipping on her second boot. Her entire body remained relaxed this time around. "You all seem to be getting along with them much better now. I'm glad."

"…Well, of course, Hisoka-san." Hearing the woman's suddenly solemn tone and noticing her pause, Hisoka glanced over her shoulder at the woman, gasping aloud when she saw the tears pooling in her eyes. She quickly rushed to her side, and when the woman bowed her head and began to sob, Hisoka grabbed both of her hands tightly in hers. "T-They did what we couldn't, after all," she choked out. "They saved you from the clutches of those awful, terrible men! They made it so that they could never hurt anyone ever again!" Hisoka's expression slowly changed into one of sad shock. "Oh, Hisoka-san, we all feel so guilty! We could never protect you like that! We are all so terrible, we're all so sorry! Seeing you like that, seeing the men touching you, it broke my heart! Y-You are just so…so–!"

"Stop, Chisoya-san! Stop this speaking of all this nonsense!" Hisoka begged loudly, trying to get through to her over her sobs—trying to get through to both of them. Chisoya looked up, only to find that Hisoka's head was bowed, hiding her angered expression from ever being noticed. The grip on her hands tightened, and her voice came out harsh, "None of you should _ever_ talk about yourselves that way!" Hisoka bit her lip, her entire body tensing before she looked back up, revealing the same smile she always had. Her voice calmed automatically. "Oh, no, I'm sorry about that, Chisoya-san…. But, just, please, all of you need to understand… I…. I would be nothing without my island." Hisoka let go of Chisoya's hands, standing up straight and crossing her arms over her chest. "I love you all more than my own happiness. I would do anything for any and all of you. I wasn't hurt at all during that, nothing bad happened to me at all, and nothing bad would have happened—even if those boys hadn't interfered. I had everything under control, just like I always will. The shouts on by behalf were just exertions of my energy. You all did everything perfectly. You did nothing you should be feeling guilty about."

"H-Hisoka-san… I – I…." The woman stared at Hisoka's face, silently testing the sincerity of her smile. After a while, she broke into a smile as well. "Okay, Hisoka-san…. Okay."

Hisoka let out her familiar charming laughter. The woman's spirits were lifted even higher. "Now, why did you come to wake me up? Was my tossing and turning really that audible?" Hisoka turned around and walked towards her dresser, hating the fact that this woman she held so dear was shedding tears.

"O-Oh, yes!" Chisoya quickly reached up and wiped all the tears off her face as she explained. "The captain woke up. He asked to see the rest of his men and we let him. Hiro and some of the other men listened in; it seems that they had a good talk. The entire crew remembered the happiness you showed them, and they are all so different now. The captain was requesting to see you."

Hisoka stifled a laugh before grinning and nodding. She approached Chisoya, placing a handkerchief in her hand that she had grabbed off her dresser. Hisoka's hand lingered in Chisoya's palm. The woman looked up, her surprised expression urging an explanation from Hisoka. Hisoka slowly met the woman's eyes, giving her the kindest grin she could muster. "You're a really great woman, Chisoya-san. Please, never forget that." When the woman laughed cheerfully with an agreeing nod, Hisoka's heart was warmed. She never would have forgiven herself if anyone she held so close felt anything but happiness because of something that she did. In the back of her mind, she was blaming those visiting pirates for all of this, but she could never admit something like that. Before they showed up, though, she had been just fine with her life. There was never a moment when she lost her composure like that in front of someone she held dear. There was never a moment when one of her cherished ones cried and felt guilty because of her. There never was, and that was a fact that Hisoka found impossible to ignore. Those thoughts wrapped themselves tightly around Hisoka's heart and squeezed until she felt it was ready to erupt.

"Well, well, my face is dry now." Hisoka quickly snapped herself out of her emotional daze, her eyes refocusing on Chisoya's smiling expression. That was all she needed to focus on right now. The happiness of those surrounding her was all she ever needed to focus on. Those visitors didn't matter. They simply didn't matter at all. "I promise to get your handkerchief back to you as soon as possible. I'll wash it carefully." Hisoka's smile brightened and she nodded.

"Oh, no need to rush, I have plenty," she assured.

"Of course you do! What else would I expect from our saint?" Hisoka's expression changed to one of thankful appreciation with Chisoya's words, her cheeks flushing gently and her smile widening. It always made her day to hear those kinds of things. "Well, let's go see Captain." Once the woman walked past her, Hisoka let out a soft sigh, following Chisoya out of her room and down the hall that lead out her front door. "He is staying in the motel with the rest of his men."

"Yes," Hisoka murmured. As they exited her house, she closed to door behind them. This was a very tight-knit island. Some would say that Hisoka was the cause of all of that. People rarely locked their doors, unless they didn't want to be interrupted. Though knocking and politeness was expected, unexpected visits were common as well. Everyone always enjoyed seeing those they lived with here on Happy Island. They all always enjoyed each other's company so much. They thrived off of it. Some would say that Hisoka was the cause of that, as well, but she didn't have any input. She just loved her island so very much. Walking at a gradual pace down the sweeping hill that lead up to her house, Hisoka suddenly perked up her head. She looked towards Chisoya as she asked out, "Oh, Chisoya-san, how is Eri-chan's condition?"

The older woman could barely hold back from frowning at the mention of her daughter's name. "S-She's fine. She looks up to you even more, now, you know. She wouldn't stop saying, 'I knew Hisoka-san would come save me! Really, I wasn't afraid at all!'" The mother paused to laugh at a seemingly nostalgic moment, but her laughter drowned in the previous melancholy feelings quickly. Hisoka was patient as the atmosphere remained solemn. "…I-It was such a horrible sight, when I saw my daughter being held by that man. I didn't know what I was going to do. When she was crying and screaming… I thought I would die. When she was finally back in my arms again, the fear that I felt of losing her was so great that I had to continuously reassure myself that my baby really was there with me—that I wasn't just imagining her. I can be quite hopeful sometimes."

"Oh my, a-are you okay?" Hisoka asked suddenly, remembering the rash actions she had taken yesterday. "I'm so sorry for what I did back there, Chisoya-san. It wasn't right of me at all to push you like I did. I wasn't thinking clearly. If you had gone down there, it just… It wouldn't have been good. Those men would have felt all the more empowered. I'm really sorry, though, from the bottom of my heart. Please don't tell me that you were injured."

"No, not at all," Chisoya said calmly, shaking her head. "Don't apologize. What you did was the right thing to do. If I went down there…. Well, I saw what those men could do to someone as strong and youthful as you. …I was happy that my child was in your care. I knew you would save her. I knew you would never let any harm come to her. With you by her side, I felt she was safer than she would be if I was there instead. So, please, don't apologize." Chisoya turned and gazed directly into Hisoka's eyes, her expression remaining stern, almost as though she was waiting for something that she knew wouldn't come.

"Yes," Hisoka mumbled, looking forward once again. "But… She was injured, though. I saw."

"Oh, please don't be sad," Chisoya spoke loudly, breaking out of her short daze as though it had never been there. She reached out, briefly brushing a hand against the young girl's arm. "It's not bad at all! She had a few scratches on the top of her head that were still healing from when she fell out of the tree last week. Remember, when Hukuko-kun caught her? She was calling him her knight in shining armor for a few days straight. But, it was just that those just opened up again. That's what most of the blood was from. Hardly any of her hair got ripped out at all. The tears were mostly from the shock, as well. I have a feeling she isn't lying when she says she is alright." Hisoka glanced swiftly at Chisoya, catching the soft smile on her wrinkled face. She was a good mother.

"I understand. In any stressful situation, everything feels extremely exaggerated. It's normal." Hisoka looked back to her feet, feeling the pain of her long run the other day in her legs. She glanced up, noticing that they had travelled far during their talk. The motel was now in eyeshot. "What about her emotional condition?" Hisoka asked quietly.

"Well," Chisoya paused. In that short period of silence, Hisoka felt the chamber surrounding her heart shrink under the pressure of anticipating panic. "It's normal for anyone that went through something like that. You know? But she has all her friends here, all her family. Eri is a strong girl. She would be angry if she knew we were worrying about her so much." Hisoka laughed softly. Eri was a special girl. All of the people on this island were held close to Hisoka's heart, but she felt that the children were closer than anyone. "Not to mention that she has you, Hisoka-san. If she ever worries at all, even the tiniest bit, just knowing that you are here for her means the world. Nobody on this island ever has to worry about anything like their emotional condition. Not with you here."

Hisoka was silent for a moment, as was Chisoya. They never met each other's eyes. They drew so close to the motel that they could hear the voices from the inside. The windows and doors were always open in that building, welcoming others in and allowing those inside to enjoy the fresh air. As they neared, Hisoka spoke briskly, her tone quiet, meant only for her company. "I'll help her. Don't worry, it'll all be okay. I can promise you that."

"Yes, I know, I know," Chisoya said in the same quiet tone. "You don't have to reassure me, Hisoka-san. We all trust you." Hisoka's heart throbbed, sending many unwelcome emotions through her body and mind at lightning speed. Trying to keep her breathing at a steady pace as they approached the entrance to the motel, Hisoka reached up and quickly smoothed out her hair as best she could. By the time they took their first step inside, a grin was stretching apart Hisoka's cheeks. Most of the villagers were there in the lobby, laughing together, running around and playing. Even far off in the corner the four visitors sat, a tiny group of people surrounding them with differing expressions.

The second the couple entered, they were surrounded by many, some who even abandoned their conversations to talk with them. Hisoka laughed, responding to each question that came at her as quickly as she could with her normal, happy voice. She was happy in situations like this—surrounded by her cherished people, needed. Though, there was one voice that forced her to abandon the crowd she so adored. "Hisoka-chan! Hisoka-chan, come 'ere!" Hisoka arched her neck to see as best she could over the group, noticing Eri playing with two other children close to the visitors' table. Hisoka smiled.

"If you would please excuse me," Hisoka said to the crowd around her. They all smiled and nodded, adding in comments here and there. As she pushed herself out of the mob, Hisoka looked over her shoulder at Chisoya, who had a smile similar to her own on her face as she engaged in conversation with a few mothers. Hisoka looked forward once again once she was free of the group, letting out a soft sigh. She picked up her speed when she saw Eri getting to her feet with the other two, rushing towards her.

"Hisoka-chan, Hisoka-chan! Daiki-kun and Hukuko-kun are playing pretend with me!" Eri announced with a perfectly honest grin. Hisoka laughed, looking over at the two boys with a sly smile. These three were inseparable. She loved it.

Hisoka kneeled down until she was eyelevel with Eri, reaching out and stroking her hair. "Ah, you finally made them realize that you were the one in charge here, huh? Good for you!"

"Yeah!" Eri's grin widened.

"Hey, that's not it!"

"Yeah, stop getting so full of yourself, Eri-chan!" The two boys quickly pulled Eri away from Hisoka, all of them engaging in some friendly play-fighting. Hisoka kept her eyes on them as she straightened up, her expression warm and loving. The carefree innocent laughter they all emitted made Hisoka feel worry-free. She didn't care about the other terrible parts of her days—about pirates and tears and nightmares and her past and anything at all—when the children were so happy. When they were together, playing, free, happy, _living_. It was all she ever wanted for them. Quickly remembering the others, Hisoka let an expression of surprise linger on her face before she turned to face the four pirates at the table.

"So, you're finally awake?" Zoro asked.

"Yes, I have some business I need to attend to," Hisoka responded, her smile remaining. Her back straightened, her smile growing stronger as she held in a relieved sigh once her words were relayed without any stumbles. This was good. She could talk to them like nothing had happened yesterday. She could act like she wasn't fazed by the situation, that it didn't matter, that she couldn't recall. She could act the way she wanted to. Her smile wasn't hindered around them.

"Hey, don't just throw a bunch of orders on people and then fall dead asleep! That's sly!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed as he recalled what had angered him.

"Oh," Hisoka said, turning her head to face him, her eyes slightly wider than normal. She didn't really have a response to that. She slowly parted her lips, ready to force out some kind of reply, something kind and soft, something normal for her, but she jumped slightly in her skin when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned herself around quickly. "Oh, Hiro-san!" The brunette abruptly gasped, a smile forming on her face as her hand fell from her chest. "You surprised me," Hisoka laughed out nervously.

"Oh, I didn't mean to," the old man with gray hair explained. She nodded, regaining her composure quickly.

"Oh, you're the old man that told us all those stories," Luffy said.

Hisoka turned around again, facing the table. She asked over her shoulder, "Hiro-san, you have met them before?" Before Hiro could get out a response, Nami spoke up.

"Hey, Hisoka!" Hisoka quickly faced the orange-haired woman. "That little kid took some of our treasure." A gasp sounded from Eri, and the three children suddenly engaged in hushed conversation. "It _will_ be returned to us," Nami said confidently, her expression stiff.

"Of course. I promise that it will all be returned to you as soon as possible. Eri-chan just loves playing games like that. Please don't blame her, she didn't mean anything by it."

"I assume as soon as possible would be right now?" Nami questioned, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. "She could lose it or scratch it or it could get sticky." Hisoka was slightly taken aback by the woman's persistence.

"You don't hold back when it comes to your treasure, huh?"

Nami quickly glared at Usopp. "Of course I don't! It's what I do! I worked hard to get that treasure, every last coin rightfully belongs to me."

"Well, of course _I_ understand that. Haha! You know, I once stole treasure from a group of mermaids. I battled them all underwater!" Hisoka gazed at the long-nosed boy, inwardly laughing at the irony of everything about him—which she only just seemed to notice, for some reason.

"Oh, be quiet already," Nami grumbled. Usopp didn't take the hint.

"Well, Hisoka-san," Hiro said clearly and evenly. Hisoka faced him once again, her movements much more graceful than they were earlier, giving him all of her attention. "The captain and his men are all resting on the upper floors. Are you ready?"

Hisoka straightened her posture, grinning and nodding. "Yes, of course I am. Just give me one second." Hiro nodded, walking quickly back into the sea of people. It was as though the second he opened his mouth, the word was spread around the entire room. It only took a few moments for everyone to stand from their seats, whispering loudly to each other and flittering about with quiet eagerness. Hisoka ignored the commotion, looking back to the group of visitors. "I have to leave for a few moments, if you don't mind. There are some things I need to take care of." The group stared at her curiously, but she just continued smiling and turned around. The three children had stopped their rough-housing, all of them now gazing around the building with excited expressions. Everyone seemed to be anticipating something. "Eri-chan, please come with me, okay?" The little girl nodded, her pigtails bouncing slightly on the sides of her head. Hisoka clutched Eri's hand gently in her own, walking towards the steps that led to the next floor. She squeezed the child's hand lightly. "You'll be okay," Hisoka promised in a whisper. Eri didn't respond as they climbed the stairs.

"Hey, what's going on?" Luffy asked loudly. Almost every person in the motel was following the two up the stairs. Hiro was closest to Hisoka and Eri, walking side by side with Chisoya. The friendlier pirates stood slowly. Luffy turned to the two smiling, and seemingly restless children standing next to the table. It was like they were watching a parade. "Hey, kid, what's happening?" Luffy asked, leaning down. "Where's everyone going?"

"Huh?" Daiki asked. When he realized who was speaking to him, he scrunched his nose up a bit and looked back to the show, but he still spoke in a carefree tone. "Oh, Hisoka-chan is just fixing everything like she always does."

"Yeah, yeah, it's so nice to watch!" Hukuko exclaimed. "She's so cool." He looked at the group of four with big eyes. "You wanna come see?"

It didn't take long at all for Luffy and his crew to find their way to the front of the large group, the two children rushing around their feet, seeing as how they were the only people present that were willing to shove and push through the crowd—disregarding politeness and formalities. "What's everyone getting so excited about?"

"What is she gonna do?"

"Shhh," Hiro hushed loudly, glancing at the visitors. "She'll start soon. Just watch." They all followed the instructions, gazing into the room that Hisoka had entered. Eri was gripping onto her skirt, hiding behind her. Before the two was Captain Shinkotu, sitting on his bed and smiling at them.

"I still don't get what's going on," Luffy whined. Zoro let out a huff of air.

"Talk quieter, you'll interrupt her!" Hukuko insisted without looking back at them.

"Hisoka-chan does this every time," Daiki whispered to them. "But this time is different. The pirates never hurt anyone before. We all wanna know what she'll do." Luffy remained silent, looking back towards the room.

Hisoka smiled at the captain, who stood before her. Although he hovered over her with his height, she seemed to hold to most authority in the room. "Hisoka-san," he greeted. He kept his eyes glued to hers, burrowing inside with the futile expectations that he would somehow get what he had before. "I'm glad you came. I wanted to thank you for letting us stay here. My crew will be ready to leave soon."

"I'm so happy to hear that everyone is recovering so quickly. You do understand that you don't have to leave until you feel ready, don't you?" The captain nodded. "Please don't feel rushed. You still have a lot to deal with, and I am aware of that," Hisoka announced. "But I know you will be able to get through it."

"My men would like to meet you once again before we leave," Captain Shinkotu said. Hisoka's expression hardened slightly, having to force away the memories of what the men had done to her. She nodded slowly, her smile evening out. She could deal with this. Of course she could.

"Yes, I understand," she said calmly. "But, there is something I also need to talk to you about."

"That favor you mentioned earlier?"

"That will come later," Hisoka explained. "You need to make up what you have done to this island. You need to fix your mistakes. Are you ready?" The man before her nodded bravely. He looked like he was ready to take on the biggest opponent, but there was nobody in the room other than Hisoka and a cowering child. The brunette exhaled slowly. "Will you be honest? Will you open yourself up to all of this and confront it? Will you willingly accept it?" The man paused, but Hisoka quickly captured his gaze. Even with her contacts, Hisoka had a strong look in her eyes.

"Yes," the captain agreed.

"Good," Hisoka chimed, her smile brightening slightly. She lowered her eyes, grabbing Eri's tiny, trembling hand and pulling her out into the open. The child refused to meet the man's eyes. She was trembling visibly, but Hisoka was remaining perfectly calm. She kept her eyes on the top of Eri's head as she spoke to the captain. "Do you remember this little girl, Captain Shinkotu? Her name is Eri. Do you recall what you did to her?" Hisoka stared at the man from the corner of her eyes, watching as his expression of confidence weakened.

"Yes," he responded. Eri flinched at his voice.

"Is there anything you want to say?" Hisoka asked him, comfortingly tightening her grip on Eri's hand.

The captain grumbled inaudibly, staring down at the tiny girl before him. Though, his demeanor changed completely when he passed by Hisoka's hard gaze. He would never be able to forget what it felt like. He wanted to be able to feel it again, but he didn't want to have to depend on her for it. If speaking to the child and going through all of this would take him a step closer, he would commit himself to it. "There's no way," he began, swallowing anxiously. "There's no way…that I could…apologize enough for what I did to you. I do apologize, though…. I am…sorry." He cleared his throat. "I don't expect you to forgive me."

The room went silent after his words. Nobody moved in the entire motel. It was like the whole island had frozen for them. The eyes of the villagers were wide and the captain was stuck in anticipation. Eri let out a soft sob, jaggedly slicing the silence in half. Hisoka suddenly let go of the child's hand, straightening her back. "Eri-chan," she whispered softly. The child hesitantly looked up at her, revealing the thousands of tears pouring down her face. Hisoka smiled comfortingly. "It's okay, Eri-chan," she whispered to her. "I know how you feel. I know you want to act. And it's okay, go ahead. Show him." The child's sobs hitched in her throat as she stared up at Hisoka, completely shocked.

"Captain," Hisoka beckoned. Everyone jumped at her words, the shock she was hitting them with pulling their hearts taut. He stared at her, letting out a mumble of acknowledgement. "Kneel down." A wave of whispers went through the entire crowd around the door. The man stared at her with wide eyes. "Now, please," Hisoka said, her kind voice carrying a strict edge. The captain was reluctant, but he obeyed. "Don't lay a single hand on her," Hisoka ordered vaguely. "Listen to everything she says. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," the man said, partially hesitant.

"Would you prefer if I closed the door, Eri-chan?" Hisoka asked. The child slowly nodded her head. Hisoka automatically turned around, approaching the open doorway. Her expression was serious, her smile still very visible and believable. She made eye contact with all those watching. They obviously wanted an explanation. Hisoka knew that. She knew what she was doing—what she was doing to all of them. She bowed her head and asked loudly, "Eri-chan, would you like me to leave, as well?"

"N-No!" Eri gasped quickly.

"Okay, okay, don't worry," Hisoka soothed. "Is there anyone you would like to enter?" She could feel Chisoya's gaze burning every inch of her skin.

"…O-Only Hisoka-chan."

"Of course," Hisoka whispered. Hisoka showed everyone her smile once more before looking directly into Chisoya's eyes. Her stress was more than obvious. They seemed to have a silent conversation with one another before Chisoya gave an approving nod. Hisoka quickly shut the door, locking away all eyes. She turned, noticing how tightly clenched Eri's fists were. She approached the child slowly, patting her head.

The whispers on the other side of the door were growing stronger and more emotional with each second passing. Some pressed their ears up against the door. Chisoya clutched the handkerchief in her hand, holding it directly over her heart as Hiro placed a strong, comforting hand on her shoulder. Hisoka had never done something like this before. But, they had expected something new to happen after something like that took place. Those closest to the door hurriedly hushed the entire group, but it wasn't good enough.

Hisoka bowed her head, not trusting herself to be able to keep her expression kind. "Go ahead, Eri-chan. Don't hold back. Just let it go." The child showed caution, but Hisoka never stopped or caught herself or took back her words. Eri obeyed. Hisoka could only keep her head bowed as she gave the child her space, silently encouraging her. Something in the bottom of her gut was worrying her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if she wanted to figure it out. She knew this was for the best. This was the one way for Eri to achieve the true happiness she deserved.

That didn't mean it was easy. It didn't mean it didn't hurt.

The door to that room was closed for half an hour. The people on the other side could barely take it. When it was opened abruptly, everyone gasped and backed away. Hisoka kept her head bowed and she held Eri in her arms. She walked swiftly, stopping in front of Chisoya.

"H-Hisoka-san…. E-Eri…." The woman was looking back and forth between the two, but Hisoka didn't give a response. Eri, on the other hand, swung her head around and stared at her mother. The whole crowd was shocked into silence at her expression. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face was covered in the liquids of her sorrow, and her cheeks flushed red. She quickly held out her arms and Hisoka handed the child off to her mother.

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" the child cried hysterically, her voice cracking. She clung so tightly to her mother that it was a surprise Chisoya didn't wince in pain.

"H-Hisoka-san," she repeated, confused and at a loss, her shock forcing her into a daze. Hisoka pulled away from the woman's touch, though, surprising the entire crowd all over again.

"She'll be fine," Hisoka said clearly. "You're a good mother, Chisoya-san. Just let her cry."

"Sure," Chisoya said softly.

"Hiro-san," Hisoka said in a louder voice.

"Yes?"

"Let him be for a while. Have someone tend to him later."

"Y-Yes," Hiro agreed. "Of course, Hisoka-san." Before anyone could turn their heads to peer inside the room, Hisoka shoved her way through and closed the door.

"Just leave him be," she repeated sternly. The entire group tensed. Hisoka turned and forced her way through the crowd again, nobody stopping her. She never raised her head even once. She made it to the top of the stairs before she was forced to stop by a tug on her dress. She froze without turning around. "Yes, Daiki-kun, Hukuko-kun?"

"Stop, Hisoka-chan! Stop right now! Come back!" Daiki hollered.

"Eri-chan is crying! Make her stop like you always do! She's crying, can't you see? She hurts! Make her happy, don't just leave!" Hukuko begged angrily. Hisoka remained quiet. "Can't you hear us? Can't you hear her? Fix this, fix—!"

Hisoka turned around quickly, silencing both of them. "As much as I want to, it isn't my place this time," Hisoka announced.

"W-What do you mean?" Daiki asked. "You said you'd always protect us! You said you'd never let us be sad! Look at what's happening to Eri-chan!"

"I see, Daiki-kun. I see," Hisoka said calmly.

"Then make it stop!" he cried out. When Hisoka didn't make any movement, both children reached out and started hitting her legs. "You liar! You liar! You liar!" they both screamed at her.

"Daiki! Hukuko! Both of you stop this instant!" Their mother rushed out from the crowd and grabbed up both the boys, who continued to struggle in her arms. "Hisoka-san, I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into them. Please forgive them."

"Don't scold them," Hisoka instructed. "The same reason why I am letting Eri cry is the same reason why those two are allowed to be angry." With that said, Hisoka planned on rushing down the stairs and out of the motel, but she was stopped by yet another voice.

"Hisoka-san!" Tara called once he finally found his way to the front of the mob. Hisoka froze, her silence telling him that he had her attention. "Look at us," he pleaded. "We need to see your face." Nobody objected to his request. They were all thinking the same thing. There was never a moment of worry on this island when people couldn't just turn and see Hisoka's smile. It was their medicine. It was their anchor. They didn't know what to do without it.

"Oh," Hisoka said softly. She reached up, pushing some hair behind her ears as she raised her head and grinned at the group. She was grinning so widely that her eyes were closed. They all stared at her face. There wasn't a speck of sorrow, of sadness, of fear. There was no worry, no doubt, nothing out of the usual. There were no tears, and her cheeks weren't flushed any more than usual. She softened her grin until she could open her eyes. "It'll all be okay, I promise!" Hisoka said cheerily. "Just trust me on this one, okay?" With a bit of fleeting laughter, Hisoka turned and bounded down the steps, never looking back.

Everyone's attention was suddenly on the crying child. Daiki and Hukuko, who had finally escaped their mother's grasp, ran to Chisoya and gazed up at her figure. She wasn't injured. She was just crying hysterically. "Eri-chan, what happened in there? What'd Hisoka-chan do?" Everyone wanted to know the answer to the question that only Eri could answer.

"I–I–I—I hit him! I hit him over and over and over again and I kicked him and scratched him and pulled his hair! I called him names, and I–I–I screamed at him! I–I–I said—I said I _hated_ him! I said mean, mean things! Mean, mean things…. B-But… B-But—!" The child cut herself off with a fit of sobs.

"Hisoka…Hisoka-chan let you?"

The child nodded while she cried. "She told me it was okay. She let me. She made that man listen to everything I said and she wouldn't let him hurt me at all. She wouldn't even let him move." Eri paused again.

"A-And that man… That man, he…. He was crying, Mama. He was crying."


	4. Presents

The table at which Hisoka sat was lit by a single light. The house she was working in was so clean that it sparkled, but it still had an odd abandoned aura to it. The way the furniture was set up, the way all the plates and glasses were stacked neatly in the shelves, the way magnets were stuck on the fridge, and all the other little homey aspects were contradictory. Hisoka remained completely silent, her hands moving quickly and expertly in a repetitive motion. Fabric was strewn all over the desk at which she worked so intensely. The bright light on the corner of the table exposed the solemn expression on the girl's face. She was completely alone. It was fine if she didn't smile.

"Mama," she said clearly into the air. It was like she was having a conversation with someone sitting across from her. "I'm not sure what's happening to me." Hisoka's confession was followed by complete silence. She sat still for a few moments before dropping what she was working on and fishing through the clutter in front of her. The conversation she was having with the person that wasn't there continued on. Her voice shook, struggling through confusion and heartache.

"I'm remembering everything you told me. I'm trying my best." Hisoka flinched, a pang of suffocating emotional pain rippling through her nerves. Finding what she needed, she reclaimed her comfortable position in the chair. She snipped with scissors and prepared her tools before continuing on like there had never been an interruption. Her hands moved just as quickly once more. Her voice continued to shake in the exact same way. "I have never had something like this happen before. I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know what was best. It was awful. I didn't have a clue. They…rely on me to know everything." As Hisoka let silence fill the air again, she reached up and brushed some hair behind her ears. A relaxed smile crept onto her face slowly, her eyes brightening. "I just had to act like you, though. I just had to remember your lessons."

She fell silent once again, staring at the empty, abandoned air around her. "It was right after that boy that lived next door hit you. Remember? You weren't fazed at all. But I was so angry at him, Mama. I was furious." Hisoka almost laughed, but didn't. "Right in front of you, I went up to him and pushed him to the ground. I'd never done anything like that before, but then I got on top of him and I shook him and I yelled at him and I cried. And I didn't stop, because you never said anything." Hisoka had so many clear memories of her time with her mother. "When he pushed me down and went to hit me, you were right there holding him back. And you looked so mad, Mama. I was probably more shocked than he was."

_"What you did was wrong, Saito. Don't you dare fight back against my daughter. You are never to lay a hand on her." _

_ "But she was just…!" _

_ "You did something wrong, and Hisoka realized that. When you make a mistake like that, you need to be a man and accept the consequences. Sometimes the punishment for your actions isn't always verbal, either." _

Hisoka snipped carefully away at the project in front of her as she reminisced. "I thought you were such a hypocrite, Mama. I was so confused. But you sent that little boy running home. He even apologized to us the next day." Hisoka let out a loud sigh, pushing the finished product of her labor to the side. She gently rested her head on the table, using her forearms as pillows.

_"You always told me never to hurt anyone, Mama. I don't understand." _Hisoka closed her eyes at the memory of her mother's laughter. Something near the vicinity of her heart writhed.

_"Darling, you can never make everyone perfectly happy. Everyone has priorities. You are the most important person to me. Saito is nowhere close to you in my mind. I knew you were unhappy, Hisoka, seeing me get hit. You felt bad, didn't you? You felt like you should have protected me, right? If I hadn't let you go off on that boy, you would have held those feelings inside of you forever, and they would continue to make it impossible for you to be completely happy." _

Hisoka had realized her priorities very quickly after the first few batch of unwelcome visitors showed up. Eri's complete happiness meant the world to her. The complete happiness of all those she loved was what she lived for. It was her duty. It was what she needed.

"Am I messing up, Mama? I let Eri get hurt. I have never screwed up that badly before." Hisoka closed her eyes, letting out a loud sigh. Her lips wanted to shake with her voice. "But the pain her mother must have felt must have been so much worse than my own." She sealed the wet sorrow tightly behind her closed eyes and she tried to swallow up the miserable noises in her throat. The heart bumping away inside of her felt twenty times heavier than it normally did. She knew this table. She knew this room. She knew this house. It all felt so familiar to her, so welcoming and safe. Inside of her treasure, she felt secured by dozens of cheerful memories.

"She'll be okay in the morning," Hisoka whispered. She would never know who that statement was meant to reassure.

_"So you do the same, okay, Hisoka?" _

_"Of course, Mama!" _

Hisoka whimpered, hiding her face in her arms and pressing her body tightly against the table. She suddenly felt really small, and she sunk into herself further.

Back in the motel, everyone had gathered once again in the main lobby. The beaten captain had wandered off to different rooms to speak with his men after a while. The whole village was in hushed uproar. Everyone had a different opinion on what had happened. Some thought that everything went the way it should have; others thought that the fact that violence was used was terrible. Some believed Hisoka had lost her mind. Many were calling her a hypocrite. Some couldn't believe they were all talking so terribly about their saint. Some were worrying that she would flee the island in a panic, and they would be left on their own forever.

Hiro was the one who finally brought a stop to all the crazy gossip. His loud voice silenced everything. "If we just sit here and let our imaginations decide what fact is and isn't, then we won't get anywhere! You all love Hisoka, don't you? Imagine what she would have to say if she was here right now and we were all talking about someone else." Ripples of rushed whispers traveled through the room. Everyone's expression was changing drastically. "She would be ashamed," Hiro announced in a rough voice.

"She was just letting Eri-chan cry, though! She said she would never let anyone of us cry like that! She _promised_!"

"Did Eri really seem pained by her tears? Did she seem to be in agony?" Nobody responded to his questioning. "She seemed thankful of Hisoka. Eri is a smart child. If she was really hurting that terribly, she would have asked Hisoka for help. We all trust Hisoka's opinion, right? Has she ever let us down before? No. She knows what she's doing."

"We need to hear Hisoka-san's opinion on all of this," Tara said.

"Yeah," the majority of the mob agreed.

"But…. Does anyone know where she is?" Leeko asked.

"What if she really did run away?" someone gasped.

"We were all so mean. Her heart would be broken if she thought she angered us," another villager said fearfully.

"Wait, wait!" Luffy suddenly argued. "If she ran away, then that means she can't join my pirate crew! This is bad!"

"This isn't time for your jokes!" someone growled.

"I'm totally serious," Luffy said bluntly. "Why would I joke about something like this? It's not that funny."

"I'll go look for her," Tara said, pushing his way towards the entrance of the motel. He directed his words at Hiro. "Knock some sense into the rest of them." Hiro nodded as a response. Tara rushed out of the building, his expression serious.

"I'm gonna go look!" Luffy said loudly. "You guys look, too," he instructed his crew.

"Huh? Why do we have to?" an annoyed Nami asked.

"We're not leaving until she joins. I refuse to accept any refusal! And we can't make her join if we can't find her, right?" Luffy asked with a wide grin. "So, the sooner we find her, the sooner we get back to our journey." Luffy looked back towards the entrance and suddenly shot out one of his arms, grabbing onto the door frame and shooting over the mob, flinging himself out of the building. "Hey! Boy! Where'd you go! I don't know my way around, I have to follow you!" Luffy's voice diminished as he traveled farther and farther away from the motel. After several minutes of annoyed contemplation, the rest of his crew left the motel to look as well.

"Well, I am gonna go scour around to see if that little brat hid our treasure anywhere. Bye-bye!" Nami announced, dashing away from the group with a mischievous grin before anyone else could question her.

"Goddamnit, Nami! How are we supposed to know where to go!" Zoro screamed at her retreating figure.

Meanwhile, Luffy has finally caught up to Tara. He began to pressure him with repetitive questions about where they should be looking for the girl. "My name is Koizawa, Tara. Stop referring to me by my gender," he snapped gruffly.

"Oh, okay," Luffy said. "You got quite an attitude on you, don't you?" Luffy laughed in a way that only he could.

"You're one to be talking," Tara muttered as his eyes scanned the scenery. "Why don't you just go back to the motel and entertain everyone? It's not like Hisoka is going to listen to you, ever."

"Hey, what color was Hisoka's dress again?" Luffy asked bluntly, ignoring Tara's annoyed expression and comments.

"Why do you want to know?"

"So it's easier to spot her, of course," Luffy said frankly.

Tara paused, eyeing the grinning boy before responding. "Light green."

"Okay! I'll keep a look out!" Luffy said. Tara was about to comment on his ridiculousness before Luffy suddenly acted in a way that had Tara shamelessly gaping and falling to the ground. Luffy stretched out his arms far in front of him, grabbing onto the roofs of two houses, stepping backwards slightly as he laughed out loud. "Gomu-Gomu no ROCKET!" Luffy screamed as he shot himself into the air. Tara was just left to sit on the floor and watch him with wide eyes. After several moments, Luffy's arm reappeared, grabbing onto the gutters of another house nearby, making his landing less catastrophic than it would have been. Although he still upturned the majority of the dirt where he found himself, his expression didn't seem to show anything other than perplexity.

"I couldn't see any green dress," he muttered. "Are you sure it was green?" Luffy asked, turning his head, staring nonchalantly at Tara's completely shocked expression. He stood to his feet, not bothering to brush off any of the dirt from his rash actions. "Hey, what's with that look? Get up off the floor, we're trying to find a member of my crew!"

"What the _hell_ did you just do!" Tara shouted at him, finding his way to his feet as he got up in Luffy's face.

"Oh, you haven't realized?" Luffy asked. He reached up and pulled his cheeks inhumanely far away from his gums, letting them snap back into place before he grinned and announced, "I'm a Rubber Man! I ate a Devil Fruit just like Hisoka."

Tara slowly regained his composure ungracefully. "I'm not even going to ask," he grumbled, walking away from Luffy. "I wish I didn't have to talk to you," he insulted in a clear voice.

"The feeling's mutual when you say stuff like that!" Luffy said cheerily with more loud laughter. "Say, let's go look at her house. She's probably there!"

"It's obvious that everyone would go looking for her there first!" Tara snapped, giving Luffy a cruel glare. "After what she had to go through, she would obviously want some alone time."

"She seemed fine to me. She was smiling and all," Luffy said, picking at his nose randomly.

Tara ignored his disgusting actions. "She's always smiling," he said, "If she wasn't, I think this island would crack in two and we would all die."

"Really! That's dramatic," Luffy said plainly as his shock died down, removing his finger from his nose after a few minutes. "So, where do we start looking first? She's in a building somewhere, I couldn't see her outside." Tara only responded by sending the carefree pirate an odd look out of the corner of his eye.

"I know where she probably is," he admitted with a sigh.

"Oh? Why didn't you say that in the first place? Why are we wandering around? Let's go find her so I can make her join my crew!" Luffy said, getting pumped up.

"We aren't just wandering around, idiot! We're going to where she is," Tara said loudly. "You're the one who slowed us down." Luffy responded with a shrug of his shoulders. The two remained silent until Tara stopped in front of a seemingly perfect house. There was a bright white fence, the gardens were neat and tended to, and the paint looked like it had recently been applied. The porch was swept; there were cute curtains in the windows. It seemed like the ideal house for a family.

"What's this? Is she in there?" Luffy asked loudly, looking back and forth between the house and Tara's solemn expression.

"Probably," he said gravely.

"Why would she be here and not in her house? It doesn't make sense. Did she break in? It looks a lot different than her house."

"God, I have to explain everything to you, don't I?" Tara grumbled. He crossed his arms and leaned back slightly, looking up at the picture-perfect home. "This is her real house. She never really comes here, though. This is where she grew up. She's living in that big house on the top of the hill because she wants to make sure people will always be able to find her if they need her help. It's hard to miss where she is living right now. This house is more hidden." That was true. There were other houses around it, but they were pretty spaced out.

"Oh," Luffy said. "Well, let's go in!" Before Luffy could make some kind of grand entrance, Tara reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute! Are you crazy!" he snapped. Although his hold was nothing to Luffy, he still complied, curious about his reasons for halting him. "Nobody goes in that house except for Hisoka."

"Why?"

Tara paused, taken aback. "I–I don't know. We just don't!" he snapped in a rushed voice.

"Well, okay. You just continue to do that for no reason, but I am going in. Pirates don't just wait around for no reason," Luffy said, easily freeing himself from the boy's grip.

"Are you even a pirate?" Tara asked, his tone unbelieving.

"Of course!" Luffy laughed.

"You know, you should just stop doing all of this nonsense. Hisoka would never leave this island, and she most certainly would never join a pirate crew."

"Why are you being so negative? I won't accept no for an answer!" Luffy countered.

"She would _never_ leave us. Even if you do manage to convince her to do something so outlandish, with one look at any of the villagers here, she will snap right back to reality."

"Oh, is that so?" Luffy said, reaching up and resting his chin on his fist. His eyes narrowed with sudden concentration. It only took a few minutes—quite a feat for the captain—for him to get a sly grin on his face.

"What?" Tara asked. "Stop making that face. That's just how it is."

"Well, then," Luffy grinned, tightening his hand into a fist and releasing it. "If that's true, then I can't have you getting in my way!" Luffy laughed in a happy-go-lucky way. He reached behind him, wrapped his hand around the boy, and Tara couldn't even get one word out before Luffy flung him away, far over the roof of Hisoka's house. He looked up, watching as the red-haired boy went flying. "Heeheehee." Luffy's laughter suddenly paused as he looked down at his stomach, rubbing and patting it with a sigh and a large frown. "So hungry!" he groaned to himself. He walked forward, closer to the door of the house, rolling his eyes at how hungry he was. Before he could open the door and go inside, the door opened and Hisoka walked out, her back facing him.

In her arms, Hisoka held a decorative box filled with brightly colored clothing. Her smile was back on her face, her cheeks void of any tears whatsoever. She let out a soft sigh as she kicked the door shut as gently as she could. She practically jumped out of her skin when a voice called out directly behind her, bouncing against the back of her head, "There you are, Hisoka! Everybody is looking for you. What's that box for, are you really running away? You should have told us. I want to eat before we leave!"

Hisoka turned around quickly, completely shocked to find herself staring at Luffy. To see someone other than herself beyond the fence that surrounded her ideal home was shocking. It hadn't happened in years. It was unheard of. Certainly she had never told anyone to not come near here, but people seemed to just understand that another person's treasure was something you didn't approach—that you didn't invade. People only came when she requested their help in painting or repairing the house. Though she never voiced it, though she told the world that this island and its people were her one and only true treasure, she knew the truth. If she came to the choice between this house and this entire island, her heart's priorities were jaded. If she let anything happen to this house, it would be like going against her word. Breaking her word, especially when the one she said those words to was her mother, was unforgiveable. Hisoka could never let that happen.

The brunette took a step back, letting out a surprised shriek as she quickly lost sight of anything other than catching her balance. She did so, dropping the box on her porch in the process, the top flying open with the force of the impact. Hisoka kneeled down quickly, rearranging the now askew clothing that lay inside.

"Ehhhh?" Luffy called, kneeling as well. "Baby clothes?" He reached in before Hisoka could stop him, pulling out a matching hat, jacket, and socks. He fondled them in his hands, curiously trying to stretch the hat to fit on his head. Hisoka clenched her teeth at the sight. "What are these for?" he asked.

"Please give them back," she said, her tone calm and cheerful, her clenched teeth hidden behind smiling lips. "I would like them all to be in top condition and neatly folded inside this box."

"Why?" he whined, gazing at her for a second. When she didn't reply, Luffy returned the clothing, muttering out, "Babies are tiny."

"Of course they are," Hisoka said, folding the clothing as neatly as she could. "They still need to grow up."

"There's so many," Luffy commented, standing up once Hisoka did after closing the box. "Hey! Those won't fit the baby forever. Why are there so many?"

"There are enough for the first three years," Hisoka commented, her expression now one of pure, giddy love.

"Where did you get so many?" Luffy asked.

Hisoka calmly walked around Luffy, descending down the steps and walking past the fence before responding to Luffy, who was walking right by her side. "I made them," she said softly. She stopped walking in front of the house, turning to face it. She stared up at all the windows, at the perfect door, at every wonderful aspect of her home. This was what she did. This was what she loved doing. It was what made her happy. She loved it so much that she couldn't explain it with words, but her expression spoke thousands.

"Wow!" Luffy gasped. "All of them?" Hisoka nodded quickly, her smile growing as real laughter escaped her lips. "You're a seamstress, too! That's great! Another cool addition to my crew." The grin on Luffy's face only intensified the power of his boyish laughter. Hisoka remained silent and still as his laughter quieted. She never took her eyes off the house. Luffy interrupted her silence soon enough. "Why were you in there, anyway? It's not the best hiding place."

"Whoever said it was a hiding place?" Hisoka countered. She looked away from beautiful face of the building, staring into Luffy's eyes for a moment as her expression softened into one of curiosity. She continued, "This place is my home."

"No it's not!" Luffy announced, "You live in that big house up there." He pointed at the house atop the tallest hill on the island. It could be seen from all around. "I remember. That's where the old man brought Zoro."

Hisoka glanced from her house back to Luffy, pulling the box closer to her chest. "You aren't completely incorrect. That's my house. This place is my home, was my home, and always will be."

"…What?" Luffy confessed his lack of intelligence with that one syllable. Hisoka looked back towards her home, sighing softly as her smile grew to form a blissful expression. She didn't know why she felt comfortable around him. Maybe because she knew his presence was temporary. She knew he wasn't a permanent person in her life. She must of found comfort knowing that he would leave this island soon enough, taking everything he knew about her with him—taking it all away.

"My mother made a family in this house—my home. I will, too, one day. The happiest family of all will live right here. …It's my strongest dream." Hisoka's confession came with a suddenly upset smile. "And my children," she said in a much quieter voice, "will wear the clothing I make for them. This home…is the center of everything I desire. It's what makes my dream so possible. This place helps remind me that I can make my dream a reality, that it isn't just some fantasy. Without it…." She suddenly shook her head back and forth, looking back towards Luffy with a renewed demeanor. "So sorry about that! I was talking too much." Hisoka didn't even wait to hear a response from Luffy before she darted around him, heading back towards the center of town. Luffy stared at the place Hisoka seemed so attached to for one more moment before turning and rushing to catch up to the quick girl.

"Was there a reason you came looking for me, Luffy?" Hisoka inquired with her usual smile, different from the real one, different from the one that covered up grinding teeth. She decided that this boy, who was blunt enough to never use honorifics, would respect being talked to the same manner. "Is there something troubling you?"

"You won't join my crew," Luffy said simply. "That's about it. Oh, wait—I'm hungry, too."

"As long as my home stands, I cannot follow you on your brave adventures," Hisoka spoke clearly. "And if you're hungry, you should be eating. The diner in town makes excellent food." The two remained silent for a while.

"Where are you taking the baby clothes?" Luffy asked.

"They are a present for one of my close friends. Her baby is due any day now," Hisoka spoke in a dreamy tone. "I'm sure that if you stay long enough, you will be able to eat a lot at the celebration!"

"Celebration?" Luffy inquired.

"Yes, of course!" Hisoka said, her face brightening up. "A new baby is such an amazing thing! Celebration of such a perfect event is expected. That child, with their mind clear and fresh, with so many things ahead of them, with such a wonderful life to lead, will be celebrated to the extreme! It is the only right way for them to enter the world. It's our gift to put the joy of festivity in their heart!" Hisoka laughed from the bottom of her heart after her explanation. "It will be wonderful!" She turned to stare at Luffy, saying, "I hope you all do stay long enough to enjoy the party!"

"Hm…. Will there be meat?"

"Of course. All types of food are served. Our chefs go all out! Everyone pitches in," Hisoka confirmed.

"Then of course we're in! All the meat I can eat, that sounds great! Meat, meat, meat!" Luffy exclaimed and cheered, returning her splendid expression with another wide, boyish grin. His expression fell and he suddenly gripped his stomach. "Hey, you're only reminding me of how hungry I am! Don't do that!"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Hisoka said jokingly.

"That doesn't matter," Luffy complained, "It still happened."

Several minutes later, Hisoka was staring down at the box clenched in her hands, daydreaming away. She asked quietly without looking up at him, "You want to become the Pirate King really badly, huh?" Her voice was different.

"Yeah, it's gonna happen," Luffy said casually.

Hisoka was quiet again for a long time. "How can you be so confident about something that hasn't already happened?"

"Because I'm strong, and I have a strong crew."

The silence spread out once more before Hisoka broke it, whispering out quietly, "You know, I think I may be able to understand."

"Huh?" Luffy said. "What'd you say? You have a bad habit of burying your face into things before you tell people stuff." Hisoka lifted her head, turning to stare at him and repeat herself.

"I said—"

"Hisoka-san! HISOKA, WHERE ARE YOU!"

Both Luffy and Hisoka faced forward again, staring at a panicking middle-aged man in the middle of the fork in the road that was just up ahead. He was breathing so heavily that Hisoka could see his chest falling and rising from her distance.

"Why is he screaming so loudly?" Luffy pondered aloud.

"I—I'm not sure," Hisoka responded. She wrapped her left arm tighter around the box, quickly cupping her right hand around her lips as she picked up her speed. "Hayato! Hayato, I'm right here! Hayato!" Hisoka broke into a run, meeting the gasping man in the middle of the road. His clothes were askew, his face flushed, his hair a wreck and his eyes wide. Hisoka reached out, placing a hand on his back gently as she cried out feverishly, "Hayato, what's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?" The conversation that followed made Hisoka's head spin. He was out of breath, gasping and clutching his pounding chest as he tried to force out sensible sentences.

"Not…me…go…go!"

"W-What? I don't understand what you're trying to say!"

"I…It…It happened!"

"What happened?"

"It's…happening!"

"What is? Explain yourself, please!"

"Mi…Miso…Misoa!"

"M-Misoa? What's happening? Is she okay?"

With a sudden burst of energy, Hayato reached out and grabbed onto Hisoka's shoulder, gazing up at her with a wild expression. He forced out his words so quickly that they were almost of a different language. "She needs you, now! It's happened, goddamnit! Go, go _now_!"

"Go where?" Hisoka snapped. Her smiling expression was replaced with flushed cheeks, worried eyes, and parts lips. Her brows were furrowed, sweat collecting on her forehead as her frustration and panic grew.

"The doctor's! Go already!" Hayato shouted as he flailed his hands in the direction he came from.

"T-The doctor's…?" Hisoka asked. She was obviously confused—more confused than the captain was. Abruptly, her eyes widened as some lock was undone and everything clicked into place her mind in under a second. She backed away from him, pulling her hand to cover her gaping mouth before gripping the box tightly. "Oh god! Misoa! The doctor's! O-Oh god!" Her eyes were darting around from Luffy's entirely lost expression to Hayato, who was now on his knees before her. "Oh god, it's happening!" she screamed suddenly, squirming in her skin with anxiety.

"You're making as much sense as the crazy old man was! I don't understand anything!" Luffy whined.

"Stop screaming and just_ hurry_!" Hayato screamed at Hisoka. Hisoka gasped and nodded, not saying another word before running as fast as she could. Luffy was right beside her, staring at her energetic expression with complete cluelessness.

"What's going on? Hisoka, tell me!" Luffy demanded.

"The baby!" she yelped with a wide grin, taking a sharp turn as her grip on the box tightened and her heart sprouted wings.

"The baby?" Luffy asked.

"Yes. The baby! It's coming! The baby's coming!"

"Coming?"

"Yes!" she said. Hisoka skidded to a stop in front of a large building, painted completely white with a red door.

"What do you mean? Where was it before—?" Luffy's questioning was cut off by a loud, ear-piercing scream from inside the building. "W-Wha…?" Luffy mumbled.

"Goddamnit it _hurts_!" the same voice screamed.

"Just calm down, Misoa! Hisoka will be here soon! Hayato went to find her!"

"You trying having a baby, and then _you _calm down! Where the hell is Hisoka!"

Hisoka forgot all about Luffy and just jolted inside the building, running up to stairs so quickly that she almost tripped over her own feet. Her heart was throbbing in her chest. This was going to be such a wonderful day. The happiness and excitement blooming inside of Hisoka were the results of her vicarious dreams. She burst into the room, her face brighter than ever, her sweat dripping down her cheeks.

"Oh thank god!" several people inside of the room gasped.

"H-Hisoka!" Misoa gasped from her hospital bed. Tears were pouring down her pained face, her entire upper body flushed red. Veins were sticking out of her forehead, her teeth grinding together as she suddenly flung her head back with another scream. "It HURTS!" she screamed.

"WHAT THE—!" Hisoka could barely hear someone scream from the doorway before the door was slammed shut. A nurse was suddenly beside her, taking the box from her hands and pushing her towards the screaming pregnant woman.

"Just do your work, please," the nurse said in a stressed voice. Hisoka nodded her head, walking quickly next to the hospital bed. Misoa couldn't even open her eyes as she bared her teeth in pain, thrashing her head back and forth. Hisoka placed her hand on top of Misoa's tightly clenched fist. In under a second, she was holding back cries of her own when Misoa flipped her hand over and squeezed Hisoka's as hard as she possibly could. The woman let out another grunt of pain.

"I think I'm going to faint!" she seethed.

"Don't you dare, Misoa!" Hisoka said sternly. "You are going to be a mother! You are going to be here for this baby for the rest of their life!" The woman began to gasp. "Someone give me something to put my contacts in!" Hisoka insisted. A rush of panicked movement began among all those in the room before a paper cup filled with water was presented to Hisoka, who rushed to remove both of her contacts with one hand, plopping them inside.

"H-Hisoka! Please, help me!" the woman begged.

"I'm here, Misoa. Look at me." Misoa tensed her entire body before shifting her neck and snapping her eyes open. Once she met Hisoka's eyes, her entire expression changed. Her body relaxed ever so slightly, and Hisoka grinned. Misoa managed to smile back as more tears overflowed.

"Can you do this, Misoa?" Hisoka asked, squeezing back on Misoa's hand. She nodded her head. "Remember how to breathe, now." The woman nodded again, her breathing suddenly becoming rhythmic. "That's it, that's it, don't stop looking at me, that's it," Hisoka said happily. She stayed by the woman's side for the next four hours. Visitors had come and gone. Hayato was on Misoa's other side, holding her hand lovingly.

"Just think of your beautiful baby," Hisoka would say whenever Misoa suffered. "Think of the life ahead of you. Think of their first words, of their first steps, the first time they smile and call you 'Mama'."

Nurses came and went, bringing Hisoka water from time to time. Luckily Misoa was hooked up to IVs. Four hours and thirty seven minutes after Misoa looked into Hisoka's eyes, a new life was created. And a few seconds later, a newborn baby was placed in Hisoka's arms. The tears that loomed in Hisoka's starry eyes were ones of pure and utter happiness as she stared down at the crying child.

"Congratulations," the doctor announced, wiping off his brow. "It's a baby girl." Everyone in the room cheered as the word was spread through the entire building and even out into the village within a few minutes. Hisoka just stood, holding the child as Misoa caught her breath and calmed down without the help of Hisoka's gaze.

In a world of her own, with this perfect child in her arms, Hisoka had never felt happier. She slowly rocked the child, expertly, as though she handled newborns every day of her life. "Shhh, baby girl, shhh," Hisoka whispered. The child opened her eyes, and the second she caught a look at Hisoka's eyes, she broke into a smile and began to giggle joyously. Hisoka's tears overflowed as she grinned and laughed along with the newborn. "Yes, little baby. Oh, you're so beautiful. You're so perfect." Hisoka spoke with a voice that was overflowing with pure love. The first smile, the first laugh, it was all Hisoka's. She was so happy to witness such a thing. She leaned closer to the little baby, who reached up and grabbed onto Hisoka's nose with her tiny, tiny hands. Hisoka laughed, kissing the child's wrist. "So tiny!" she giggled. The baby giggled back. "My little baby girl," Hisoka whispered. Before she could even realize her words, Misoa had regained enough energy to call out for her child. The look in Hisoka's eyes changed drastically when the baby was stolen from her arms. Her tears continued to fall.

She took a few steps back. Nobody looked at her face as they patted her on the shoulder and thanked her for her hard work. Hisoka just nodded, her smiling lips trembling. She found her contacts resting on a metal table and she quickly removed them from the cup, attempting to place them in her eyes. She found it nearly impossible with all of her tears. She tightly pressed her lips shut as she wiped away the sad liquids, catching sight of the same child smiling up at her mother. Attempting to avoid the sight, she turned to face the other side of the room. Seeing her present to Misoa, the box of baby clothing she had worked so hard on, made her flinch away. Once she forced all of her tears away, she put in her contacts and quietly tried to make her way to the door.

Feeling her chest throb as her heart was crushed to bits, she drew in a quick breath when someone bumped shoulders with her. She didn't even wait to see who it was, she just forced out, "Oh, could you please tell Misoa that those baby clothes are for her? Thanks!" Hisoka dodged the person and any of their questions and darted out of the room and down the stairs. Once she exited the building, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Everyone had heard the good news and was already inside, congratulating the mother. She didn't even have a second to work through her thoughts before she heard a group of people walking down the stairs, nearing her. She took off with a quick intake of breath.

She ran and ran until it hurt. She paused in front of her home, leaning over and resting her palms on her knees as she hung her head. She turned to the side until she could see the front door through her slightly matted hair. With her feelings growing sharp, she shook her head and took off running once again. She gasped and heaved for oxygen. She couldn't face it in there. She couldn't bring her shame into her treasure. Her house was the only place where she could be completely alone, so she struggled with all her might to climb the hill, tripping over herself at times and scrambling back to her feet. When she finally came to her house, her breathing was loud enough to be heard several meters away, wheezes now sounding like shrieks. She walked with shaky legs towards her front door, walking inside and leaning against it on the other side, slamming it shut with her body weight. _Finally. _It was the only word running through her head as she carefully locked the door, her disgrace covered by the darkness of her empty house.

She walked as slowly as she could towards her bathroom, stripping herself of her boots and dress on the way. She left her clothes strewn on the floor sloppily. Hisoka was still gasping for breath even as she weakly turned on the shower and crawled in, getting on her knees in the tub. After a few minutes under the burning rain, hot steam clogging her lungs, she let her head fall back as she gazed at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Misoa."

It hurt her even more to realize that she didn't truly regret it.


	5. Honoring

When it came to something such as this wondrous celebration of new life, something that everyone was avidly involved in, it seemed like all the previous issues vanished. The island, all the way to its core, seemed to be a truly happy one. Eri was among all the other children, dancing and playing around the pink crib. She had been crying just a while back, but she was fine now. With that noted, nobody could really remember the anger they felt towards Hisoka. Nobody really cared to, either.

All the men that had once caused all the people of this island to suffer such trauma were around their captain, drinking and eating and laughing away. Nobody was staring at them in fear, nobody was running away, nobody was screaming at them for trying to injure their saint. Some people even managed to have friendly conversations with them. Some of the villagers melded in with them, lost in the festivities, shouting cheers. They looked as close to normal as they could with their gruff appearances.

The small pirate crew of four was getting along well enough to blend in as part of the community. The one that wore a straw hat was in heaven, surrounded by enough meat to satisfy part of his appetite. The swordsman shoved down the sake without a bit of hesitation or consequence. The long-nosed one was entertaining those tipsy enough to believe his outrageous stories, along with those high on the party mood that went along with his tales for the fun of it. The only female crew member went back and forth between chatting with her fellow crew-mates and mingling with some of the villagers.

All of the women of the village crowded around a happy, bright-eyed woman who was holding a laughing child in her arms. They discussed everything about babies and infancy and parenting and fawned over the child's charm together. The older mothers gave advice and those looking forward to starting families spoke of their envy jokingly. The men of the village crowded around the new father, patting him on the back roughly and congratulating him in a manly manner. Drunk fathers forced their sons to sit through stories of their manhood and teenage girls giggled as they shared their fantasies of the perfect wedding and the ideal husband. Everyone was having such a perfect time. Everything was so wonderful.

Even a young lady was managing to walk through the party and chat with everyone with the brightest smile on her face. She acted as the hostess at times, finding it easy to figure out how the party should progress as she walked around the entire floor and gently inquired about everyone's wellbeing. This girl, who had been fleeing from her problems at full speed several days ago, was walking around without a care in the world. She was embraced and willingly suffocated at times by the jovial mood, all of her attention stolen by the celebration. Her laughter and smiles and kind words came easily. Everything was flowing so wonderfully. Everything was perfect.

A few hours into the party, most of the guests were tipsy, the food was diminishing quickly (mostly thanks to a certain boy with a straw hat), and all those that had decided not to drink were seated in tight groups, chatting cheerfully. Hisoka abandoned the most recent conversation she had begun after excusing herself politely. She walked over to the large pink crib, letting her hands rest on the railing. Several of the children from the village were leaned up against the crib, snoring away. They had partied themselves out pretty quickly, with the watchful eyes of their mothers distracted and their reign free. Her eyes moved away from the children and she smiled gently as she slowly leaned down and gazed into the crib. The sight of the sleeping baby warmed her entire being. She let out a soft sigh, resting her elbows on the railing and her head on the back of her hands. She had to refrain from reaching down and scooping the child into her arms. Hisoka continued to watch the baby dreamily before holding her breath abruptly as the baby rolled around, yawning in her sleep. When she settled right back into her dreamland, Hisoka exhaled and relaxed, delving back into her tranquil state.

Her eyes suddenly widened and her shoulders tensed slightly when her eyes drifted over the clothing that the child's movement had exposed. It was one of the pajama sets that Hisoka had made for her. The sight both made Hisoka feel wonderful and terrible. She didn't have to try to remember the words she had uttered so casually right after the baby was born. The words that she wasn't meant to say. The words that didn't belong to her. The selfish words that she was so thankful nobody else heard. Hisoka closed her eyes and stood up straight as she quickly shoved those feelings away, reminding herself that she was at a party. So she grinned down at the child and focused on the fact that this meant that Misoa not only loved her gift, but that she would get to see a child wearing the clothing that she made—another dream that she could live out vicariously. _How perfect._

Before she could continue to enjoy the moment of solitude in such a crowded room, reality reentered her world with a sudden crash. She jumped in her skin, gasping with surprise as her eyes darted to the source of the commotion. It was difficult to understand what had happened, for many of the pirates had already made a large circle around the scene. Hisoka turned her head to look back at the baby girl in the crib. She was surprised to see that the child was only stirring slightly. Hisoka quickly reached down and pulled the blanket back over her tiny body, brushing her fingers tenderly over her cheek. With one last longing gaze at that baby girl's sleeping face, Hisoka forced herself to walk away.

Before she was even half way to the big crowd, several people burst out into hysterical laughter. The voices were coming out so quickly that they combined into a long stream of nonsensical drunken hollers. "He's asleep! He never was one to hold his liquor! What a light-weight! And to think that's our captain! Hahaha! This is HYSTERICAL! Oh, he'll never live this one down! Hahahaha! Look at him! He looks so _stupid! _He's snoring! Oh, Captain, you idiot! Out cold at a BABY SHOWER! I can't believe this! Hahaha! Think of the hangover in the morning, guys! Hahahaha! Let's draw on his face! Put his hand in warm water! Gyahahaha!"

Hisoka furrowed her brows, relieved when some of the women from the village approached the group with her. Along with them, Hisoka managed to push and shove her way through the brusque pirates, some of who were trying to shove food in their faces and laugh at the same time. Though the party atmosphere seemed to give everyone more tolerance for the drunken antics, this was pushing the line. Hisoka, along with two other women, approached the captain slowly. They made a small circle around him, staring down. The intoxicated mob was just slowly starting to disperse along with the attention spans of those that indulged in the alcohol. He was knocked out cold, snoring like crazy, his face flushed and drool slipping out from his grinning lips. It wasn't an appealing sight.

"Oh, we should just get him out of here," one of the women grumbled with an exasperated feminine sigh. She had soft blond hair that was tied back in a sloppy pony-tail. Thin glasses framed her face, light wrinkles surrounding her lips.

"Yes, yes, I saw how much he was drinking. There will be no way to wake him up now," the other woman commented with a stern nod. Her voice was deeper, the undertone of her words tired and wise. Her short red hair was left down, barely styled and brushing against her broad shoulders.

Hisoka let out a troubled whine. "He's sure to be in pain in the morning," she guessed worrisomely. The other two women nodded in agreement. The three kneeled to get a better look. The men around them continued on with their theatrics like the three women had never arrived. Hisoka glanced around at them before facing the two women. "We have to move him. These boys won't calm down at all as long as he is here."

"Yeah," both women agreed.

"But," the blond woman mumbled, "how do we move him? Look at how big he is…. I don't think anyone could even drag him out of here."

"My good-for-nothin' husband could probably be of help, but he's off lecturing Goro on the hardships of fatherhood. Not that he knows much about it," the red-haired woman rolled her eyes and laughed. Hisoka shook her head slightly, gazing down awkwardly at the captain she had changed so much. "Gosh, can't you just tell these men to never drink again, Hisoka-san? It'd be best for everyone."

Hisoka glanced at the two women, who were both looking at her with playful expressions on their faces. "Oh, a pirate will always be a pirate. I'm not sure what the stereotypical pirate would turn into if we took away rum," Hisoka said after a minute of hesitation. Normally it wasn't hard for her to be playful with those close to her, but things had changed since those four pirates arrived.

"They'll all be like that boy with the straw hat!" the blond women burst out with a short fit of laughter. The redhead joined in shortly.

"We still need to figure out how to get him out of here," Hisoka mumbled, mostly to herself as she gazed back down at the captain that was down for the count. She sighed softly. It was true, most of the men that were strong enough to move this man were too tipsy to care or too drunk to stand up. A celebration in this town was a big to-do. No matter what the occasion, the men always got drunk to enjoy themselves, and the women just chatted amongst themselves. If the sake wasn't available, the men would probably never come along. Before Hisoka could think anymore into the issue, the man that she was kneeling next to was suddenly lifted off the floor like a sack of potatoes. Hisoka glanced over, only to see the two other women had already stood to their feet. She gazed up from her kneeling position, her eyes landing on Zoro, who had sloppily slung the unconscious man over his shoulder.

"I'm taking him outta here," Zoro said, his voice agitated, his eyes slightly squinted. "It's too damn noisy. Where is his room?"

Hisoka stood to her feet, patting the skirt of her dress until the dust from the floor was back where it belonged. She watched thankfully as the blond woman seemed to be giving directions to Zoro. She smiled at the sight and turned, though her body froze automatically and she forced herself to take a step back. She bit down on her lip, watching as Misoa lifted her crying baby out of the crib, holding her to her chest as she patted her back. She planted a kiss on the baby's forehead, soothing her with soft words. Her expression reflected motherly worry. It effected Hisoka's heart it ways that she wished it didn't. Hisoka flung herself around, suddenly out of breath as she clutched her heart. She stared down at her shoes, feeling her knees shake slightly as her willpower wore thin.

"Oi, don't even trying giving him directions!" Usopp hollered from across the room. "You're talking to the guy who gets lost on the way to the bathroom!" Luffy's laughter followed immediately.

"Goddamnit, shut up, Usopp!" Zoro snapped loudly.

"Oh, well…we can't have him just wandering around," someone mumbled.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good."

"Maybe someone should just take him there."

"I can do it on my own!"

"But I don't really want to leave the party…."

"Yeah, I know how you feel."

Hisoka didn't skip a beat before lifting her head, straightening her back and grinning widely. "I'll show Zoro-san the way!" she exclaimed. Everyone looked at her. The drunken or tipsy men were only attracted by her abruptly loud voice, but the women were automatically grateful. They nodded and smiled at Hisoka, walking back towards their old groups and thanking her along the way. They made happy, prideful comments about how reliable their saint was and how lucky they were. Hisoka nodded, "It's not a problem, really. Everyone, please, go back to enjoying the party."

Hisoka walked briskly to Zoro's side, her grin never vanishing. "You don't have to follow me around," Zoro barked at her. The way she always smiled was annoying. And, yet, although he was expecting to hear another annoying cheery response, the reply she gave was one that was whispered solely for him to hear. She didn't even make eye contact with him.

"Please just allow me to do this," she requested.

"Whatever," Zoro grumbled. "Let's get this over with so I can go back to what I was doing."

"Of course," Hisoka said happily. "Just follow me." So, the two left the large theater where the party was being held. They walked down the street in silence, Hisoka's grin falling back to a regular smile after a few minutes. "Thank you so much for doing this," she said after a spell of walking. "I really wasn't sure how I was going to solve this problem. I'm glad you were there to help."

"Yeah," Zoro said indifferently, readjusting the man on his shoulder. "It's stupid. I was just trying to take a nap and these guys wouldn't shut the hell up."

"A party in this town isn't exactly the place to find peace and quiet," Hisoka informed.

"That baby could do it," Zoro reasoned carelessly.

Hisoka remained silent. After a few more moments she quietly spoke, "The motel is the tallest building up ahead on the left."

"Good," Zoro responded. Silence followed once again. Hisoka slowly reached up and clutched at her chest. Her heart was still throbbing and it still hurt. The memories just wouldn't let her rest. It worried her. "Do you have a bad heart or something?"

"W-What?" Hisoka asked, averting her distressed eyes to stare up at Zoro.

"Your heart," he said, glancing at the hand that she was still resting over her chest before looking back in front of him. "You're always grabbing at your chest like that."

"Oh, no, my heart is fine!" Hisoka said with a bit of nervous laughter, waving her hand in front of her defensively. Her other hand quickly let go of her chest and shot back to her side. She wasn't thinking straight, she was messing up. "It's just a habit of mine, really," she excused. Zoro shrugged and ceased his questioning. Hisoka turned, looking at the now-closed-up motel. Everyone was at the party, nobody was inside to enjoy circulating air. Hisoka walked in first, holding the door open for Zoro. "It's just up these stairs and to the right," Hisoka explained, rushing to the steps after closing the door. She wasn't in a good way to be having conversations. She was grateful that Zoro wasn't a chatty person.

She held open the door to Captain Shinkotu's room, entering behind Zoro, who just carelessly threw the sleeping man onto his bed. Hisoka didn't have enough energy to have any reaction other than to quickly cover him with a blanket and stuff a pillow under his head. He man snored away as if he had never been moved from the party. Drool was still dripping down his face. His eyes twitched every now and again. Some of the bandages on his face were dirty and peeling. Zoro leaned up against the wall farthest from her, crossing his arms over his chest and bowing his head slightly. "Do you mind if I just clean him up a little bit before we return?"

"You're the hostess of the party, do whatever you want. Doesn't bother me."

Hisoka nodded bluntly with a quietly forced laugh. "I honestly just really needed to get out that room for a while," she confessed. "I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the people." Zoro didn't give her words any audible response. Hisoka bit down on her cheek as she went to retrieve the first-aid kit from the desk in the corner of the room. If she had stayed in that room any longer, she didn't know how she would hold herself from running to Misoa picking up the baby and soothing away her cries by herself. She wanted to snatch the child right out of her mother's arms the same way Misoa did to her the other day. These thoughts were obvious and forthright, and they were causing Hisoka to hurt more than she had in a long time.

Hisoka normally wasn't this way around children. She normally just loved them and admired their sweet, innocent charm from afar like everyone else. But…. She couldn't forget the words that she let slip. She couldn't forget the way the child felt in her arms, so tiny and innocent. That baby girl was the essence of perfection. Her laughter, her smile, her small hands, they were all images that were looming over Hisoka. If only Hisoka hadn't said such words. She had messed everything up. Was this a cruel form of envy? A messed up way experience parts of her own dream?

"Why did you let that girl do what she did to him?" Hisoka looked up from the captain, gazing at Zoro's nonchalant expression as he questioned her. She looked back down without replying, pressing the last new bandage tightly against his worn skin to ensure that it would stick. Eri was a small child, she didn't do much damage. Still, Hisoka wasn't going to take any chances. "Everyone was so freaked out by it, it turned into such a big deal," Zoro continued. She wished there was an easy way to avoid his questions. She wished she was deaf.

"What are you saying?" Hisoka asked softly. Her voice still sounded warm and kind.

"Nothing, really," Zoro said.

"Are you saying that I should have just looked at both of them until they felt dandy and fine and forgave one another?" Hisoka pressed, ignoring his answer. He was another temporary person here on Happy Island, just like Luffy. She could talk to him and it would be like the words were never said when he left in a few days. He would take them away onto that ocean where so many things were lost. "That happiness wouldn't have lasted long. I thought about it for a long time. It would have been the equivalent to throwing a blanket over something you didn't want to see instead of cleaning it up." Hisoka paused once again, taking a seat on the edge of the captain's bed as she put everything back inside of the first-aid kit. Her back was facing Zoro, but it didn't stop her from continuing on with her explanation. "I do that all the time with those that come here searching for me for the wrong reasons. I did that with Captain Shinkotu and all of his men. But, Eri isn't them. Eri is special. She is a much higher priority." Hisoka paused again, letting a sigh loose as she clicked the kit shut and rested it in her lap.

"When things are dealt with the easier way, the way that gives the quickest results, it is like taking a step away from true happiness. Those men don't deserve to feel that perfect, no matter how awful that sounds. Eri does. Eri does more than anyone. If she didn't rid herself of those feelings, if she didn't confront them head on, they would never go away. They would always be right there, blocking her way to being perfectly content. And they would show up over and over again, possibly in a different form—in some way that she couldn't recognize. In her nightmares, in her daily life, even years from now they would still be there." Hisoka stood up slowly, walking back towards the desk where she placed the first-aid kit. "I could have put her through the long, painful experience of going through everything on her own. But, with the one that hurt her so badly right there, why should I? Why should she? She could face it all so much easier with him right there to listen to everything she had to say."

Hisoka reached up and pushed some hair behind her ears before turning around. "I hate violence. But, if it is on the path towards true happiness for the ones I love, there is nothing I can do but accept it." A smile was still on her face. There wasn't a speck of sorrow in her eyes. It was as if she was having a cheerful conversation with him, about her hobbies and her favorite food and how she named her pets. By analyzing her smile, nobody would have suspected she was speaking of her innermost thoughts. She looked ideally content. She always did. It was a talent, a skill, trained and perfected, molded into her—a part of her. She walked towards the door, pausing until she heard Zoro follow her. As they walked down the hallways together, Hisoka asked quietly, "Doesn't that make sense?"

Zoro was quiet for a while. Hisoka didn't dare to evaluate his expression. "Why are you asking me?" he retorted after a second. "I didn't have a problem with it." And the silence returned to the two. They walked down the steps and out the motel and down the long road to the theater where the event was held in completely dead silence. It couldn't be considered awkward, but there was no denying the slight tension in the air.

Once the large building was in eyesight, Hisoka suddenly began speaking again. "Did you happen to see the smile on Eri's face today?" Hisoka asked causally. She wasn't expecting an answer at all, and continued on without allotting time for a response. "There wasn't anything holding it back. That's wonderful." With that said, they reentered the party. Everything seemed to be back under control. As people started to greet them, Hisoka looked up at Zoro, confidently making eye contact with him for the first time. She stared at him for what appeared to be a split second too long before she showed him a grin and said, "Thank you so much! For everything, really." And with that said, Hisoka let herself get drawn into the party by the others.

As Zoro sighed, he made his way over to where Luffy sat with Usopp and Nami. He let his eyes wander away from the sight of his captain stuffing his face and rubbing his fat stomach from time to time. They found the girl with pig-tails who everyone called Eri, and they analyzed the smile on her face as she talked with her friends sleepily. They darted to the girl who was radiating joyous cheer, and analyzed Hisoka's grin. When compared, the difference was obvious. And so Zoro just sat down at the table, crossed his arms, leaned his head back, and fell asleep automatically without giving the girl's words another thought.

Meanwhile, Hisoka was able to continue on with her hostess duties with a wide, believable smile on her face. Having such carefree temporary people here on the island was proving to be such a nice thing. It made her feel selfish and guilty for the moment, but certainly they would take those feelings away with them when they left on their ship, right? It was all Hisoka could hope for.

The party went on as the sun lowered slowly in the sky. Those with younger children or too-drunk husbands retired from the party, leaving the atmosphere much more relaxed. The theater was still quite full, yet most of the pirates were passed out in one corner of the room. A group of women were gathered close to the table where Luffy and his group were seated. At the center was Misoa, holding her child in her arms. Hisoka was on the other side of the room, chatting cheerfully with the caterers of the party as they took a break.

"I love the clothes she is wearing, Misoa! So cute," one woman complimented.

"Hisoka-san made them for you, right? They look like something she would make."

"Yes, yes! Isn't she just wonderful? She delivered a whole box full on the day of the birth. Our little Sakura here will be dressed fashionably for the next three years or so! Then we'll just have to ask her for more," Misoa said softly with a wide smile. "Don't you think so, Sakura?" The baby just giggled with a carefree, clueless smile.

"She has been making clothes for a while now, right?"

"That's right. When she was only five, people were already going to her to have her sew up tiny holes and such. I think she was making clothing from scratch by the time she was nine or ten. And before she could sew, Hisoka was always going around dressing up her baby dolls. She would make Hinari make extra meals so she could feed all her dolls. Remember? She had quite a few of them. Oh, oh, and they all had different likes and dislikes. It was so sweet."

"She has always had such a big heart."

"Sakura is quite lucky to grow up with her around, don't you think, Misoa? I don't think Hisoka-san will let an ounce of unhappiness fall upon her." Misoa gazed at her friend who made the comment thoughtfully before allowing a loving smile to form on her face as she looked down at the baby in her arms.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"Hisoka actually just sewed up one of my aprons a week or two ago. It looks brand new!"

"That girl really is like the town's seamstress."

"And I heard that Reena is going to ask Hisoka to make her son a suit to wear to a formal party she is thinking of hosting in a few months. Apparently she has some big news to share!"

"Oh really? Maybe Goro is finally going to ask that precious girl of his to marry him!"

"Oh, a wedding would be so exciting! I hope that's the case!"

"I wonder who will make the cake?"

"Darla, of course. She caters all the parties."

"Oh, oh, oh! Did you hear that?" Nami asked suddenly, turning and facing the rest of the group. Her eyes had been set on the group of gossiping women. "Hisoka makes clothes. From _scratch_. That means she could make me clothing for free! Any design, any pattern, and I wouldn't have to pay a cent." Nami was automatically in on the idea of having Hisoka join the crew. Though, even if she didn't, Nami was going to make sure she got some free clothing before they left. She couldn't pass up an opportunity as good as that, and it didn't seem to her that Luffy wanted to leave anytime soon.

"Yosh!" Luffy said loudly after swallowing some more meat. It amazed everyone that he had been eating nonstop since the party began. "Our crew has the best seamstress on the sea!" Nami nodded.

Usopp, who had had his fill of fish long ago, suddenly pumped a fist into the air. "As Captain of our crew, I will have her make us the strongest sails around! They'll withstand even a tornado!"

"I'm the captain!" Luffy barked as he began on what seemed to be his hundredth plate of meat. "But strong sails would be nice," he said, looking back down on his food and even swiping leftovers off the plates left on the tables around him. He completely ignored Usopp's argument about who was captain and who wasn't. "Yeah, I'll have to have her make them."

"But not before she makes me my clothes," Nami insisted. Zoro slept away through the majority of the party as though he was in the most peacefully silent place imaginable.

A sudden classic noise echoed through the theater until it was the only noise to be heard. All eyes were glued on the one who was holding a fork and tapping it against a wine glass. The woman put the items back on the table before nodding towards Misoa, who held her child closer to her chest and grinned. Her eyes scanned the room twice before sticking on Hisoka's surprised, expectant, and smiling face.

"I would like to say a few things about the young woman who helped me bring my Sakura into my life today," Misoa said loudly. Hisoka's expression softened as she turned her whole body to face the new mother. Nobody noticed the way she tightened her hands into fists behind her. "Hisoka-san," Misoa announced. A small applause swept through the remaining villagers. All eyes were on the saint of the island. She looked as ideally happy as always, like she was always ready for a spotlight. Her mind was a wreck.

Misoa cleared her throat before continuing, "First of all, you have done so much for me over my years here on this island that I couldn't possibly thank you for everything in one speech alone. But, I have to say that I will never forget that it was you who stayed by my side, along with my husband, of course, during the birth of my child. I will never forget all the kind words that you spoke to me. It all meant so much." It wasn't the words that Misoa was saying that were bothering Hisoka. It was the memories those words stirred in her heart. "And all of the clothing you made for Sakura! I can't thank you enough. They're perfect." Hisoka grinned as Misoa went on with her speech. It looked like such a perfect moment.

"Hisoka-san…. I…I know that you have done so much for me over the years. It would be terrible of me to ask something of you," Misoa confessed bashfully. "But, there is one request I would like to make." The room froze. All of the attention centered in on Hisoka.

"Anything, Misoa," Hisoka said happily. "You never need to feel bad about asking me for something."

Misoa bowed her head, nodding quickly. When she looked back up, there were tears in her eyes. "Hisoka-san…. You are such a wonderful girl with such an amazing heart. You showed Sakura pure bliss the moment sure entered this world. Would you please be Sakura's godmother?"

Everyone in the audience grinned, some gasping, others whispering with delight. Hisoka was the only one to falter. Her expression froze, her eyes widening. A weight landed on her chest and her heart had difficulty beating. She was back to her normal composure within a few moments, her shoulders slightly tense and her gut twisting. "Misoa," she said clearly. The woman's words touched Hisoka is ways she was never expecting. "This is so unexpected, I…." All the delighted murmuring came to a halt as they all anxiously awaited Hisoka's response. Hisoka drew in a quick breath, her smile widening into a grin as she exclaimed in a fumbled voice, "I'd be honored!"

The entire room erupted in cheers as Misoa let out a happy sob. Everything went perfectly. The crowd pushed Hisoka to stand before the infant and the teary mother. Everyone was up, surrounding Hisoka, Misoa, and Sakura. Only a few seconds in, though, Hisoka broke standard procedure and politely excused herself from the party. She spoke of exhaustion from all the work she had been doing recently, saying she honestly only needed a good night's sleep. She fled from the theater as fast as she possibly could once they all accepted her explanation. Thousands of knives were stuck in her heart. She couldn't hold back from grimacing as her figure dashed out the door.

Luffy and Nami watched her with curious gazes. Zoro slept. Usopp fed on the excitement of all those around them. A very small group of elderly women seated right next to the visitors caught the straw-hat pirates' attention as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Oh, oh, oh," one soulfully moaned. "Poor, poor little Hisoka… Poor, poor thing."

"It must be so hard for her," another croaked. "The pain she must be experiencing…."

"To go through this and know the truth. It must be unbearable for such a pressured young lady."

"And to think, that's always been her dream."

When Hisoka arrived at her house, she locked her door once again. With her face buried in her pillows, she let out weep after sob after scream. She should have been happy. She wasn't.


	6. Interruptions

"Hisoka-san! Hisoka-san, please, wake up! _Hisoka_!"

Hisoka drew in a quick, jagged breath when someone began to shake her shoulders harshly as slept. Her eyes snapped open. She didn't have time to smile. She didn't know if she could. This had to be a nightmare. It looked just like one. In the background she could hear gut-wrenching screams. Hovering over her, a source of distress, right next to her bed, stood Darla, who was squeezing her shoulders tightly enough to cause pain. That wasn't what sent jolts of panic raking through Hisoka's veins, though. It was the fact that tears were pouring down Darla's face and her eyes held pure horror that made terrifying panic seep around the saint's heart. Hisoka was speechless. She was scared.

"Hisoka-san! Please, get up! Please!" Hisoka couldn't move, though. It was like parts of her brain were going numb. She didn't have to move, though, for Darla was pulling her out of her bed by herself. The brunette's body was limp—useless—refusing to accept this as reality. Pulled out from under the covers, her knees buckled, dragging her to the ground and only having her reflexes and Darla's fear to drag her back up. "Hisoka-san! It's terrible! It's terrible! Hisoka, Hisoka, oh, please!" The woman continued to shake Hisoka back and forth as she turned into a sobbing catastrophe.

_"P-Papa? Papa, why are you crying? Papa! Papa, please, Papa! Don't cry! No crying! Please, Papa!" _

Hisoka was surprised she was still breathing. It was like everything in her mind was going in slow motion. A lucid dream—this had to be. "W-What…?" Hisoka's lips moved to form the words, but her voice was lost. What time was it? It was so dark outside. Moonlight streamed through her windows and lit up the heart-breaking scene before her. "Da…Darla," she whispered. An emotion was clear in her voice. Worry, confusion, the beginnings of panic. They were all having a domino effect inside of Hisoka. Everything was crashing down. Everything about her world was crashing down.

"P-Pirates! Barbarians! Monsters!" Darla screeched. "They're here! T-They're attacking, Hisoka! Please, make it stop! They're destroying everything! They'll kill us!"

Hisoka stood stock still as Darla crumbled to the floor. Her own knees pressed together weakly and her frail body swayed, but she stayed on her feet. She stared down at the broken one that she was supposed to protect. The words that Darla was screaming were so unbelievable that her mind was unable to comprehend them immediately. She reached up with a shaking palm, grabbing her heart through the fabric of her dress. She bowed her head further, staring at her feet. Her breaths were coming out at a terribly even, calm pace. The questions running through her mind were stupid. They shouldn't have been accompanying heartbreak. Where were her shoes? If she had to go for a walk, she should be wearing them, right? Was her dress okay? She had hemmed it last night. It looked pretty again, right? She should hem her other clothing. The weather would be getting warmer soon.

"Hisoka!" Darla screamed again. Hisoka looked up slowly, holding her breath. Then it all clicked, within that one second. Her heart was torn to shreds. Chaos filled her mind. Her world changed, and she tried to hold up everything that was collapsing, but it crushed her.

"N-No," Hisoka whispered. Her breathing picked up. She squeezed her eyes shut and doubled over, her jaw hanging open. It was true. She could hear the villagers screaming. She could hear buildings collapsing. This wasn't a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. "No!" she cried again. "No! No! _No!_" Hisoka turned, forgetting about her shoes and her dress and everything other than the terrible dread that surrounded her. It clawed at her. It suffocated her. It stole her.

"Hisoka, please! Look at me!" Hisoka stumbled over her own feet and turned her head. She knew what Darla wanted. She wanted Hisoka to remove her contacts and make her feel good about life. She wanted her to do what she always did. She wanted her eyes. But Hisoka couldn't. So Darla just watched as the trembling girl's lips twitched into a smile as tears simultaneously filled her eyes.

"No, it'll be okay," Hisoka whispered. Her smile broke into a grin as she tightened her hold on her chest. "I'll fix everything." Her voice was numb, and then she left Darla to sit on the floor of her bedroom and sob and scream. Hisoka ran as fast as she could. She almost fell down her stairs; she almost broke her door down. She came to a stop when she reached the outdoors. It was so dark outside. Everything around her home seemed normal. But, off in the distance she could hear their cries. Hisoka didn't know what she was going do. She wanted to move, but where would she go? How did she handle this? What could she do?

When she recognized where the smoke was coming from, Hisoka didn't think any further. She just ran and gasped and smiled—trying to cling to anything _normal_. She didn't know what she was going to see, but she had hopes. She was praying that it wasn't what she thought it was. It had to be something else. Anything but this. Anything but this. But Hisoka was wrong. Her prayers didn't work. The screams seemed to stop. Those wreaking havoc paused. Everyone was watching Hisoka. Everyone was _always_ watching Hisoka. _Always_. And this time, she failed them. Her smile dropped. Her tears poured down her face like waterfalls. When was the last time they had seen her cry? It had been so long.

Hisoka fell to her knees in front of the debris. Her jaw hung open. All she could do was stare. Stare and wait and pray that she would wake up. It took a few moments, but she began to sob. She began to sob loud enough for the entire village to hear. It was gone. It was gone. It was ruined. Her hands dug into the scorched dirt beneath her as she grew closer and closer to losing complete control. The fence. The garden. The porch. The door. The curtained windows. The roof. The floor. The desk. The rooms. The beds. The furniture. Her home had been destroyed. It was a pile of perfectly painted wood. Everything she had worked so hard for. The center of her dream. Her promise to her mother. The thing her happiness revolved around. She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want this at all.

_"Is it true, Mama? You and Papa built our house from scratch?"_

_ "That's right, Hisoka. We worked really hard on it." _

_ "Why, Mama? You could have just bought an already made house." _

_ "But, doesn't this make it seem so much more special? It's like…the family heirloom. You see, baby, I wanted to build us the perfect home. A home where we could live together and be the happiest family of all. I want us all to grow old in this house. …You know, I was also thinking of you when we were making this house." _

_ "Really, Mama?" _

_ "Yes, Hisoka. And you want to know what I was thinking?" _

_ "What?" _

_ "I want you to live here with your husband and all of your children. I want you to experience the same happiness I am right now for the rest of your life, and I want you to experience in this home. Okay, baby?"_

_ "O-Of course, Mama! I promise! It's the best house ever, nothing else is better! I wanna live here forever! And my children can live here, too! And their children and their children and their children, too!" _

And their children and their children and their children, too. What children? What home? It was gone. It was ruined.

Hisoka ground her teeth together and screamed at the top of her lungs. Something snapped inside her wrecked mind. She felt her heart get torn from her chest. She felt it fight, trying to cling to its chamber, begging her to fight for it, but she didn't. She could see it being shredded before her very eyes. And it _hurt. _"Goddamnit! No! M-My home! My dream! W-Why? WHY!?" But Hisoka couldn't do anything other than scream. Luffy stood several feet away from Hisoka's figure and the house that had been destroyed by pirates that showed up in the middle of the night. They went inside and demolished everything. They destroyed it from the inside out. He watched as Hisoka sunk further to the floor. She was crying. That wasn't right. Luffy looked around. Everyone was watching her, and she was crying. She had to know they could all see her. Luffy's expression hardened. She always showed everyone such a happy face.

_"This place is my home, was my home, and always will be. My mother made a family in this house. I will, too, one day. The happiest family of all will live right here. …It's my strongest dream. And my children will wear the clothing I make for them. This home…is the center of everything I desire. It's what makes my dream so possible. This place helps remind me that I can make my dream a reality, that it isn't just some fantasy. … As long as my home stands, I cannot follow you on your brave adventures."_

Luffy's hands tightened into fists. Even though Hisoka was always smiling, and even though he didn't really pay too much attention to her, the smile she showed everyone and the smile she showed him when she was looking at her home were completely different. That home was her treasure. She had made that completely obvious. He watched her sob and shed her tears for a while longer before turning swiftly on his heels and walking confidently towards the shore. He looked up, catching sight of something light pink clutched in the hands of one of the monsters that had destroyed Hisoka's treasure. His expression turned grave.

_ "A new baby is such an amazing thing!"_

_"Oh, could you please tell Misoa that those baby clothes are for her? Thanks!"_

_"And my children will wear the clothing I make for them."_

_ "And before she could sew, Hisoka was always going around dressing up her baby dolls."_

They shattered her treasure. They stole what she had worked so hard on. And now they were holding it, mocking it? It was unforgiveable to Luffy.

A slightly wrinkled hand rested on Hisoka's shoulder. Hisoka thrashed her head to the side, gazing up at the sympathetic expression on the woman's wrinkled face. Hisoka could only stare at her for a few moments before she returned to her hysterical sobs and wrapped her arms around the woman's neck, holding her as tightly as she could. She clung to her as tightly as a wounded child would their mother. "Mama Suki! Mama Suki! It's gone, it's all gone! My mama's home, my dream, they took it away! Mama Suki, what do I do? Mama Suki!" Hisoka gasped for breath in between each suffocating sob. She felt like everything inside of her that ever made her feel good was being ripped out of her with each word she screamed. "I can't even fight for it, Mama Suki! I can't even fight for it! Why did this happen, Mama Suki? What do I do? My dream! My home! My babies! What do I do, Mama Suki? What can I do!?" Her body was shaking. Her screams were ear-piercing. She was at a loss. She felt helpless, alone, abandoned, weak, and empty.

Mama Suki stared at her, and she realized something that she always dreaded. Hisoka wasn't a person anymore. Hisoka was slowly falling apart. She needed someone to protect her, before she was lost forever. Before her Hisoka was gone for good—before her Hisoka broke and crumbled and died.

"Do you really want to fight for what you lost?" the woman asked softly. Hisoka could only nod as her sobs overtook her ability to speak comprehensibly. The woman remained silent for a few more minutes. "I can give you the ability to do so, if you really wish." Hisoka slowly pulled herself away from the woman, gazing into her eyes through her frantic tears. "But, Hisoka, you have to be sure—"

"P-Please," she begged feebly, cutting the woman off. "I'm sure. Please. Anything at all. Please!"

The woman looked conflicted, but she hesitantly nodded. A gentle push of her shoulder was all it took to maneuver Hisoka's derelict body. The girl just continued to cry as she stared at her abolished dream that she now faced. Her most precious treasure, now in ruins. How could this have happened? What did she do that was so horribly wrong?

"Hinari… Katsuro… I'm sorry. I must break our promise," the woman thought out loud. The words made no sense. She gazed down at the two syringes she held in her hand. One was filled with a bright blue liquid, the other with a soft pink one. Suki sighed. "If you were to see your child as she is now," she whispered, looking up at Hisoka's trembling shoulders. It hurt the child's throat to sob, but she didn't have control over them any longer. The control that she had hidden so far away inside of her for four years had finally crumbled. The woman looked up at the starry, idyllic night sky and closed her eyes. "…And if you knew there was nothing you could do, if you knew that you were gone…. You would agree with my decision. I'm sure of it."

The woman placed her hand back on Hisoka's shoulder, straightening out her back forcefully. "Hold on, now, child," she whispered. "It won't last too long."

"M-Mama Suki…." That was the only thing Hisoka could murmur before the blood drained from her face and her body froze, her eyes going wide. They glazed over. They broke. She thought they would pop out of her head. The woman, without any further warning, stabbed the syringes into Hisoka's shoulder blades and injected the serums. The pain was impossible to explain. Hisoka's vision turned white as the blinding, searing pain spread through her, down her spine, through every single vein in her body. She couldn't even scream. The agony stole her voice. It stole her ability to breathe. It stole every single thought from her head. _It hurts. _That was the only thing Hisoka could think. _It hurts. _Suki reached up and snapped the syringes, leaving the two needles inside of the Hisoka's body. The seamstress felt the ground beneath her open up, the agony of hell licking at her legs, infecting her with diseases. She hurt so horribly. She hurt.

A few minutes later, Hisoka felt fine. It was like nothing had happened. Her shoulder blades felt numb, her heart was still in shreds, but she felt oddly complete. The tears kept falling as she turned her head and looked at the woman who was smiling gently at her. The smile was off. The smile was hesitant. The smile was sure but doubtful. The smile was concerned. The woman held out a hand, which Hisoka took weakly, finding herself being pulled to her feet by the woman. "M-Mama Suki," Hisoka repeated forsakenly.

"Go, now, my child," she whispered, patting Hisoka's shoulder lovingly. Hisoka looked slowly from her shoulder back to the woman's face. Tears were in Suki's eyes as she whispered with that same unusual smile, "And please forgive me."

"It's okay," Hisoka said. Her voice was bland and vulnerable, open and empty. "It stopped hurting, really, it did." Her eyes were vacant and overflowing at the same time. Hisoka had never looked like this before. She had never felt like this before.

The woman quickly turned Hisoka's weak body to face the pile of debris. Hisoka's breath hitched and her body tensed all too quickly. Anger, rage, fury, and heartbreak swelled inside of her. She felt like a different person. She felt like doing things that she used to consider terrible, horrible, unforgiveable, and yet she didn't feel like she would regret doing any of it. She felt things that she had never felt before in her entire life. Her fists were tight, her jaw clenched, her breathing labored, her heartbeat erratic, her feelings uncontrollable. Images were flashing through her mind at lightning speed. Images that made her feel restless. All the clothing she had made. The dreams she had of living here with her family. Everything this home meant to her. How could someone just take it away? How could someone do something like this? She would never forgive them! She would never, ever forget what they did to her!

The woman felt Hisoka begin to quiver and tense beneath her hand. She could feel her entire body throbbing with the beat of her heart. "Go, child," she whispered. "Fight them. Fight for your home. Fight for your dream. With the help of your mother and father, take back what you lost. Go." Hisoka didn't have the option of being told twice. Something inside of her told her where they were, those awful creatures. The beings that ruined her life. The monsters that destroyed her treasure. Fire was alit in her eyes, in her soul, in her body, and the smoke was filling her to the brim. Her legs had never moved so quickly. Her face had never held such a horrifying expression. And when she saw the faces of the demons that dared to wreck her world, Hisoka was simultaneously completely clueless and knew exactly what she was going to do.

Hisoka stood on top of the hill that led down to the shore where the monsters had arrived. Many of them were already taken out, much to Hisoka's surprise. Their huge ship was wrecked, as well. It was like huge holes had been punched in it, straight through all the most necessary parts. Men were knocked unconscious. Blood had been spilt. People were groaning in pain. And Hisoka didn't care. She spotted Zoro and Luffy down below, fighting away. Everything they were doing was the definition of violence. They were both so massively powerful. It attracted her. Hisoka felt her heart beat even faster, but she didn't care if it stopped. The sight was shocking Hisoka to the core.

Luffy stood across from one of the men. Both of them were slightly short of breath. Both of them were covered in the marks of battle. "I don't have time to deal with you right now, you little brat," the man spat at the boy with the straw hat. Hisoka could hear Luffy chuckle. It sounded sinister. "I don't care if you kill my entire crew with your swordsman there, I just want to do what I came here for."

Luffy was silent for a moment before he lifted his head and shouted, "You will never lay eyes on my seamstress! You'll pay for making her cry!" And Hisoka knew he was talking about her. "That house was her treasure! She loved it more than anything! It was a part of her dream! Do you think I'll let you get away with taking something like that away!?" And her heart paused before speeding up yet again. Something stirred wildly in her chest, and before Hisoka could even think twice, she was running down the hill with speed she didn't know she was capable of. She didn't even have to think about her actions. Her throbbing heart told her what to do. Intuition drove her.

"My mama…" Hisoka growled under her breath, her pupils shaking with her broken world. "That was…" Shaky sobs trembled in the air before her, smacking across her face as she ran through them. Her muscles were tensing. Her hands were in perfect fists. Her feet were hitting the floor one after another. She knew everything she needed to do to get revenge, and it scared her. "That was my mama's house!" And for that reason, she was able to ignore her terror.

Luffy and the man he was fighting looked up. Her footsteps were loud. They were both shocked. Her flushed face was covered in tears, which were still pouring from her crazed eyes. Hisoka tackled the man, twice her size and covered in muscles, to the ground as though it was nothing. Her nails pierced his flesh, coating her fingertips with his blood. She pinned him to the shore with all of her strength and stared into his eyes, snapping, "You want to pleasure of the devil? Do you? Is that what you fucking wanted!? Then take it!" And the rest of Hisoka's action went by in a blur. She never said another word. She only sobbed and cried out with the shocking amounts of power she was exerting. She punched the man in the face and he was knocked out cold. But she didn't stop.

She stood to her feet, staring down at him, panting like feral beast. She felt _alive. _She felt _amazing. _She bit down on her bottom lip, chaos tearing everything she ever thought she knew to bloody shreds. Her finger tips were red. Her right fist was red and pounding. Her own blood dripped down her chin, accumulating until a delicate drop hit the sand and broke apart, seeping into the core of her Happy Island. She roared, pulling back her leg and kicking the unconscious man in the head. She felt something break beneath her toes, and she felt _accomplished. _The second that feeling started to dwindle, Hisoka reached down and wrapped her tiny, blood soaked hands around the man's head. She lifted him right off the ground and stared into his dead eyes. She could see him rampaging throughout her home, spreading his filthy germs all over her mother's pride and joy. Hisoka's hands involuntarily squeezed. His skull cracked and at her mercy. The way she could hear the squelch of his brain didn't scare Hisoka, though. The fact that she was weak, and knew that this should be impossible for her didn't frighten her, either. What scared her was the fact that she felt like smiling. Feeling a rough hand brutally squeeze down on her arm, she dropped the corpse to the floor as though it was dirty and unworthy. She turned her head and showed her attacker the grin she was so afraid of. He froze, hit was a bolt of fear. And she knew exactly what to do to him, too.

In a minute, Zoro and Luffy stopped fighting all together. They just stopped and stared. There weren't that many men left standing, but Hisoka took down every single last one. She punched and kicked the men hard enough to send them flying backwards. Her fighting was far from graceful. Everything she was doing was by brute force, but it did the job. When she was done, every man she laid a hand on was dead. She was on her knees, gasping loudly for breath. Her tears were still dripping. Her bare feet and hands were bleeding. She was covered in dirt. She was stained with the blood of monsters. She had taken several blows all over her body.

"W-Woah," Luffy said. "Awesome."

"What happened to her?" Zoro asked rhetorically. Luffy shrugged.

Hisoka suddenly stood to her feet, turned around, and ran away. She ran away from the proof of what she had just done. She ran away from the proof of what she had just felt. But no matter how far she ran, Hisoka couldn't deny it. She had just killed so many men. And she had enjoyed it. She loved it as much as she loved making clothes. It excited her in ways that made her want to scream with joy. Even when she was hit back, she didn't care. It didn't put a dent in her pleasure. It was all so invigorating, so mind-blowing. It made her feel like a complete monster. She didn't even know what to think. She didn't know who she was or why she did what she did. She didn't know if she wanted to take it back. Hisoka's world had changed so rapidly, so dramatically, so horribly. In the end, she collapsed on the porch of the one who seemed to have answers, and she curled up in a ball and sobbed some more.

A few hours in, the old woman exited her home and sat next to the silent girl. The village was silent. If they didn't know better, the two could say that nothing had happened that night. They could call it all a bad dream. But they did know better—they knew more than they ever had before—so they couldn't. Suki examined Hisoka's face. The obvious, blatant mental distress shocked her. Hisoka was a girl to hide these things. Hisoka had been. "I did it, Mama Suki," Hisoka whispered without looking at her. "Everything you said. I did it." One of her bloody, quivering hands was raised into the air. "Just look. See?" Her eyes weren't focused on anything in front of her. She was just staring at everything at once.

"Would you like me to explain everything to you now?"

"Can you really answer all my questions?" Hisoka countered.

"Most likely," Suki confessed. She wasn't proud of her honest response. Hisoka nodded slowly. "You already know how you were born," Suki said. Hisoka pressed her lips together. "You were born in my lab, with your mother's blood and with your father's. You had both, just like any child. But… What you don't know is that… That process…. It wasn't made to create normal human children. It was made to create hybrids, to breed the perfect combination. It was made to create the perfect solider. It was meant solely for military use. But I altered it. I removed the chemicals half-way through your development. And when you were fully developed, you were like any other child, with a personality that was unique to you. You were raw, just like all the other newborns. That was what your mother and father wanted. They wanted you to have a normal life. They wanted a normal child. That is what you were supposed to always be." Hisoka didn't comment, even when Suki paused.

"I was a little worried. This was something that hadn't been done before. The use of that process had been banned by the government, permanently. But you grew up just fine. You developed naturally, with your own likes and dislikes and your own dreams and emotions. With your parents there to raise you, you were perfect in every way. But, once they were gone…. Their presences in your life were supplying you with that chemical I had removed. Those chemicals were vital to your existence. Their presence didn't have the same effect that those chemicals would have, they just made you feel proper and complete. The results of the way you were brought into the world—the consequences of that altered process—they showed themselves in your smile once your parents were gone. Do you see these?"

Hisoka numbly turned her head and looked into Suki's open palms. The two broken syringes were there. She held up the pink syringe, "Your mother's chemical, your mother's love," she held up the blue syringe, "and your father's. I had them right here. I wanted to give them to you so badly, because you hurt so horribly. Oh, you have no idea how badly I wanted to give them to you… But I had promised your parents that I would never do such a thing. Nobody ever expected your mother to pass away, and nobody expected your father to venture out and meet his fate the way he did. I most certainly didn't. But you still had the home you grew up in with your family, all of your memories were safe in there. I was content knowing that you could survive without my help as long as you had that house. Their presences were safely held in there. So when it was destroyed today, and I saw you break down, I knew that it was time. That was how it was going to be for the rest of your life, that immense depression would never be able to go away unless I gave you these. You would have been gone. …I would have lost—_you_ would have been lost."

Emotion was slowly seeping back into Hisoka's expression. "My parents'…love?"

"Let me tell you some things that you may not know about your mother and father, Hisoka. Your mother was a thrill-seeker. I had never met anyone who loved danger more than Hinari. She loved danger and violence and the rush that adrenaline gave her. I think that that is what attracted her to your father. Katsuro had the heart of a true warrior. He fought for everything he believed in. He never let anyone look down on him. And when he got serious—or when he got angry—nobody could defeat him. He fought all the time, and your mother couldn't get enough of it. They were quite the couple." Suki laughed nostalgically.

Hisoka stared at Suki with pure disbelief. "N-No, that can't be true. I know my father was strong and my mother supported him, but they were never such violent people."

"They were very violent. They just changed for you, Hisoka," Suki said. Hisoka flinched under her words. "You hated violence and you never had much physical strength. It was the result of me removing the chemicals that I did. I took away the love of violence and the physical strength that would have ruled you and made you simply a solider… Those parts of you were left in their place. So, your parents changed so that you would be happy. They changed the deepest parts of themselves for you."

Hisoka and Suki were both silent for a long time after that was said. "It sounds like something they would do," Hisoka eventually said with love in her voice.

Suki laughed softly. "Yes. So, that was what was in these syringes: your mother's true love for danger, thrill, and adrenaline, and your father's pride and joy: his strength and pride. That is what I just gave you. I…completed you. You don't need that house anymore to feel completely happy, Hisoka. You have these, now."

Hisoka stared at Suki's serious expression with tints of fright in her wet eyes. She couldn't entirely process the information that was given to her. Her heart still felt broken. "W-What do I do now, Mama Suki?"

"You're still you, Hisoka. You just have some new attributes that you have to learn to deal with."

"B-But they all must have seen what I did. They all must hate me now. They must think I'm such a hypocrite."

"Nobody saw. Once you ran away, I told them all that you would fix everything. They all went inside and locked their doors. All of them." Hisoka slowly turned her head away from Suki, looking up into the sky. She grit her teeth painfully and shook her head.

"I—I'm such a monster. I enjoyed doing those things so much. It made me so happy. So completely and utterly happy. How could it? How could I like such a horrible thing?"

"You need to think about it this way, Hisoka. Would you have ever used your power on those men down there? You could have taken them all out that way, like you normally do." Hisoka couldn't respond, because her honest response was one that made her sound like a terrible person. She never wanted those people who caused her such pain to feel happiness ever again. "There are so many people out there like those men. So many people have that have caused others as kind as you to feel the exact same pain. Do you really want to use your power on them? Do you want to make them feel good at all?" Hisoka's silence was a clear response.

"You know that, with your power, you can certainly make everyone experience pure happiness. But is that what you really want?" Hisoka's response of silence came again.

A while later, Hisoka confessed with a wavering voice, "I don't want them to see me like this. I just want to run away."

"You have a one-way ticket out of here, you know," Suki reminded. Hisoka didn't need reminding, though. She knew really well how appealing that choice was to her suddenly. The choice that just last night she was convinced was the most impossible thing was now the one that she had to hold herself back from choosing. "I know you don't want to hear this, but if you stay here, you know that more and more men are going to show up, just like the ones that came here tonight. They will be bigger, stronger, and even less humane than those." Hisoka gulped. "They're bound to hurt someone other than you here on Happy Island. Can you really handle that?"

When Suki said things like that, it cleared up Hisoka's clouded mind. Hisoka reached up and clutched her chest with both of her hands. "M-Mama Suki," Hisoka pleaded, her voice completely unstable. Her lips began to quiver. The older woman gazed at her lovingly. "I—I miss my home, M-Mama Suki. I want it back. I just want it _back_." With that out in the open, Hisoka burst back into tears and accepted the comforting hug that Suki wrapped her in. Soothing, elderly hands rested gently on her shoulder blades. Hisoka didn't return back to her house that night, she just stayed in the arms in the woman who was like her mother. And the only words that woman uttered were,

"I know, dear. I know. Just cry. Just cry."


	7. Changes

Happy Island was very different than it normally was. It had been that way for several days. The aura was altered in a terrible way, even though the residents chatted and smiled as they always had. People were obviously worried about something. They were worried about something grave.

Happy Island was once an isolated place. Nobody really cared about it—it wasn't known for anything. It didn't even have its name until a certain fourteen year old girl ate a Devil Fruit and went around changing everything. They were all so happy to have her there with them all the time. They all cared for her so much. So, when they saw her cry for the first time in almost a decade, it shattered the ideal veneer they had all been living under. And the shards that fell remained stuck in their hearts.

They learned what had happened. One of the men from Captain Shinkotu's crew had escaped during the brawl to get to Hisoka. He took one of the small row boats from their ship and fled back to where he came from, where he informed these pirates, much stronger than his own crew, of the power that Hisoka had. And so they came. They came to take her, to look at her, to defeat her, and to keep her if they couldn't. And they didn't care that in the process they were going to destroy the village. The villagers didn't stand a chance against them, it was obvious. Captain Shinkotu's crew was knocked out from alcohol intake. So, everything went by in a blur. They were left to fend for themselves. The villagers would protect their saint, no matter what, though. Yet, when knives were pressed against their throats, they panicked and tried to buy time. They told them the location of Hisoka's home, and they raided it. She wasn't in there, though. She was in her _house_. But they didn't know that, and nobody would tell them. So when Hisoka came running, and saw her treasure in ruins, they laughed. And Hisoka changed. And she was hurt.

Suki had informed the village that Hisoka was in need of some alone time for a while. And that alone time had already lasted several days. Hisoka remained in Suki's secluded home, which was surrounded by her herb gardens. It was hard on Hisoka, the sudden change. A change in her world would have been different. But a sudden change in her personality? It made Hisoka feel fake sometimes. Like she had been given a new body to live in and she still wasn't used to all the parts.

Hisoka had grown accustomed to her routine over the past couple of days, though. She would wake up early every morning and go out and pick herbs. Then she would clean the produce that Suki brought home. Then she would help clean the house and the lawn. Then she was left to be by herself until dinner time. After which, she would once again be left alone until she decided to go to bed. It was a calm, relaxing, and slightly boring schedule, but a necessary one.

It had been an hour since Hisoka had finished weeding the garden and raking the lawn of the petals from nearby blossoming trees. Now all she could do—all she had the will to do—was sit there on the porch and just stare. She had a few bandages on her face, hands, and feet. Her left shoulder and elbow were wrapped, along with her right knee. She had never fought anyone before. Maybe she was overreacting, but her injuries freaked her out. Part of her thought that if she covered them up, she could just ignore them, forget about them. But it wasn't that easy. Nothing was ever easy anymore. Hisoka had never realized how much she hated change.

She had cried and sobbed and broken down in front of everyone that counted on her. That ruined everything she had worked so hard to build up—she ruined it all. She burnt down her own safety net. She knew they all relied on her, she knew she had let them all down, and she hated herself for it. But, crying over such a horrific loss was expected, right? They all knew how much her home meant to her. They all knew. Maybe that made what she did a little bit more forgivable. Yet, now she was here, hiding away from her fears. Was she always this avoidant? It was hard for her to remember. She needed time to think. She desperately, desperately needed it. But what was she supposed to think about? No matter how clueless she was, she knew that if she returned to those she held close right now, she wouldn't be able to smile properly. This island relied on a proper smile.

Hisoka let out a loud sigh and let her forehead rest on her knees. Whenever she felt this way in the past, she always had her treasure to go home to. It was her secure place. Now what would she do to feel safe? Now where would she go? It was silly, Hisoka knew, but she felt as though when her home was knocked down, all of her happy memories ran away. She shouldn't have needed material objects to remember her mother and father, but she wanted them badly. She wanted to feel them. She wanted to hold them. She wanted to smell them. She wanted to touch them. She wanted to see them. She wanted them back. She wanted everything back. She was being so selfish. She felt so materialistic. Hisoka had always turned to that home for happiness, though. Always. It never let her down. But, now Hisoka couldn't remember anything. She couldn't remember the way the home smelled—her mother's perfume and her father's cooking. She couldn't remember the way her parents' voices sounded. She couldn't remember the feeling of the fabric on the couches. She was forgetting it all. She was forgetting everything.

And the clothing. All of the clothes she had ever made were in that house. All of it. Her fabric, her needles, her thread, her buttons, her zippers…. How would she ever replace them all? She missed them. She missed everything that was gone. Hisoka stared at the step where her feet rested. She didn't cry. "Oh, Mama," she whispered. "Where do I raise my family now? They will never be as happy as they would have been…."

Hisoka jerked her head up, gasping when she heard someone sit down next to her on the steps. It couldn't have been Mama Suki. She always spent a long, long time preparing dinner. She managed to look long enough to realize it was Luffy before he dropped something on her head and it covered her eyes. "H-Huh?" she muttered, reaching up slowly and removing it. She pushed herself back from him, suddenly shy. Yet, she forgot her shyness, for she recognized the feeling of the fabric immediately. She brought it into her lap, only to gasp again and have her eyes fill with tears. Her lips quivered. She could hear her heart throbbing. Her trembling hands clutched the clothing to her chest. The light pink onesie with long sleeves, meant for an infant. The light green sun dress with light blue flowers on the hem and three light blue buttons, meant for a preschooler. The gray wool footsie pajamas with an attached hood and a light pink cotton heart sewn onto the left breast, meant for a toddler. Hisoka remembered making all of them. She remembered it perfectly.

"Those were the only ones I could find," Luffy explained.

Hisoka lifted her head, not really caring that there were tears in her eyes as she smiled at him. "T-Thank you so much!" she exclaimed wholeheartedly. She turned back and covered her face with the clothes, biting down on her lip to keep in her sobs. Luffy watched her silent struggle with an interested expression on his face, which consisted of a slightly smug grin. Her smile was similar to the one he saw when she was talking about her home. But it still wasn't the same. So, the two sat in silence for a while, until Hisoka finally revealed her face again. She slowly folded the three garments neatly, placing them in her lap. She was obviously happier than she was earlier. She was obviously in love with what Luffy had given her.

"It took me this long to get someone to give me directions on how to find this lady's house, you know? Everyone here seems to have a problem with me," Luffy whined. "I don't know why. I didn't do anything. They just have attitude problems."

Hisoka had trouble bringing herself to laugh softly and keep her lips twitched slightly upwards. "Don't let it get to you. They are just taking out misplaced anger on you, I'm sure."

"Yeah," Luffy said, "Attitude problems." Hisoka didn't give him a response. She just went back to staring down at the clothing in her lap. After a few minutes of silence, Hisoka was back to her lip-quivering expression.

"Thank you, so very much. Really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Luffy. Thank you. Thank you." She wasn't sure why she was crying around him. She could no longer honestly tell herself that he was going to be a temporary person in her world. She just didn't know any more. Hisoka covered her mouth with her free hand, bowing her head lower and squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to hold in her emotional tears. She forgot what it was like to cry from happiness. She had forgotten what it was like to cry at all. It was so different.

"Not a problem!" Luffy snickered, crossing his legs Indian-style and resting his palms on his knees. Luffy waited until Hisoka had calmed down again to speak in a curious voice. "Do you have split personalities?"

"W-What?" Hisoka asked, taken aback. It was a weird question. Maybe she had misheard.

"Or, uh," Luffy paused, scratching his head as he forced himself to remember, which took thinking, which was difficult. He finally perked up again, smiling as he completed the sentence, "Bipolar disorder?"

Hisoka stared at his smiling face, her head cocked to the side, her mouth hanging open only slightly. "Split personalities? Bipolar disorder?"

"Yes, parrot," Luffy said with the same grinning expression.

"Um," Hisoka mumbled. She wasn't sure how to approach him. She was never really sure how to approach him. He was odd. "No, I don't." Did she apologize? Was this expected of her for some reason? Hisoka considered the boy's personality for a minute before deciding on a response she was comfortable with. "Why are you asking? Where did you get that idea in your head?"

"Oh, Nami and Usopp came up with them, and I wanted to see if they were right," he said plainly. Hisoka continued to silently stare at him. "What?" he asked her cheerfully.

"Continue on with your explanation," she requested. A silent response and an expectant stare from her were generally meant to carry that message. Was it really a confusing habit of hers? Most everyone she knew understood.

"Why?" Luffy squawked. "I answered your questions." Oddly enough, the boy sitting next to her wasn't pressing Hisoka's patience at all. She was very tolerant of him, as if she dealt with frank and simple-minded people all the time, which she didn't.

She asked normally, "What were you discussing that lead Usopp-san and Nami-san to come to those conclusions about me?"

"The way you beat up those guys," Luffy informed. Hisoka's shoulders twitched before tensing. She turned her head away from him, looking back at her lap. She wished her hair was bigger. She wished it would hide her face.

"Well, no, then," Hisoka said before swallowing, "I didn't do what I did because of a disorder of any kind."

"Well, then, why did you? It was so unexpected and cool!" Hisoka realized that Luffy probably expected her to say everything that was on her mind because that was how he dealt with things. She could understand it.

Hisoka bit down on her lip, not giving Luffy any sign that she had even heard him. This should have been easier. She had imagined herself explaining it to someone over and over again during her time alone, but now she suddenly felt like a newborn and these were to be her first words. Hisoka hadn't forgotten that things were no longer easy for her, but that didn't stop her from wishing they could be. Hisoka's entire body tensed as she forced her words out. She felt like she was pulling each one, one-by-one, kicking and screaming from her mind into the real word. It was a painful process. "M-Mama Suki is a…brilliant scientist. When she saw me on that night…she gave me a special serum…that ch-changed me a little bit. They made me…enjoy things that I…normally don't."

"Oh? How so? Does it make you enjoy stuttering?"

Hisoka suddenly felt her patience grow weary as annoyance seeped through its barrier. This was hard for her. She couldn't help but think that he was being cruel, saying such things in a sincere voice while he smiled at her. He was a very contradictory boy. "No," she said with a slight grumble, forcing herself to widen her smile. She reached up and ran a hand through her hair, tugging it to shield her expression from him further. It was even harder to get all of the words out when she was forcing herself not to stutter or hesitate. "Let's just say that they…" Hisoka bit her tongue to force out the rest of her explanation quickly—possibly a bit too quickly. "Gave me the attributes necessary to fight for my treasure."

"Oh, cool," Luffy said. He didn't comment on the way she wouldn't look at him. He didn't comment on the way her voice sounded so strained.

"…If I stay here… Isn't it true that more people will come, just like those men?" Hisoka asked in a faint voice. She honestly only wanted him to tell her that she was wrong, that nobody else would come and she would never be forced to face these new parts of her.

But Luffy didn't really care, or know, what Hisoka wanted. He just answered honestly. "Well, yeah, of course. A bunch of them, probably." He thought it was pretty obvious. Even if Hisoka did have insight into the hearts of the people on this island, to him it seemed like she lacked a lot of common sense. Hisoka's only response was complete silence. Her heart and soul and the logical part of her brain all engaged in a battle, and everything inside of her was flipped around until a mess was made. A mess of everything.

"Are you going to leave soon?" she inquired. She was happy that he couldn't see her face. There was no way she could smile at him with how she was feeling right now. If she decided to say her next words, she didn't want to realize what she would be confessing. She was willingly leaving everything she loved and everything she knew. She wasn't going to be comfortable anywhere other than this island. She wouldn't know what to do out there. But, she had already admitted to herself that she would never be able to find a secure place here on Happy Island. If she just stayed here, it would be like that forever. She'd be like this forever.

"Maybe," Luffy said. "I'll think about it tomorrow."

Hisoka let her head rest on her knees once again. She had to raise her voice to make sure Luffy could hear her clearly. She really didn't want to hear another comment about stuttering or parrots. "What are you going to do once you leave?"

"I'm going to go to the Grand Line, of course! And I'll find a chef and a musician. Because every pirate crew needs those, right?" Hisoka didn't answer him, once again. She wasn't that fun to talk to when she was like this. Mostly because she didn't really talk at all.

The words that Hisoka said next felt similar to her agreeing to her own death sentence. "You know how I said that as long as my home stood, I could never join you on your adventures?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember that," Luffy said in a care-free voice.

Her voice wavered. "So, can I come with you?" Hisoka knew that she probably should have elaborated more. She was probably going to need to explain things further. She probably shouldn't have expected Luffy to just understand her. There weren't many times that he did throughout the short while that she had known him. But, Hisoka didn't know if she would be able to. She was afraid that if she was to say what she really meant flat out, she would turn her back on the idea and go hide under her bed and tell Luffy to never speak to her again.

But Hisoka's meaning reached Luffy. He finally _got _her. "Well, of course. You're my nakama, and my seamstress, you kind of have to." And with those words, more changes were made in Hisoka's life. The role that Luffy and the rest of the visiting pirate crew, that joked and didn't really get along with anybody, played in her life changed. They went from temporary people, to permanent people. And everything that she had ever said to them was going to be with her forever. But Hisoka didn't really care, for some reason. She felt free. She felt like she was running away and escaping everything that worried her but doing something good for all those people she called her cherished ones at the same time.

Luffy couldn't notice all of those changes. It wasn't possible. But he did notice one big change that made him feel a little bit happier. Hisoka was looking at him again, and she was smiling widely, and it didn't look like she was having as much trouble doing so. And when Hisoka spoke to him, her voice wasn't strained at all. She sounded happy. She sounded excited. And when she laughed, her laughter sounded honest and heartfelt. She looked back at her lap, but looked right back up at him again, holding the clothes in her hands tightly.

"Do you know why I made these?" she asked cheerfully, her eyes shining with animated enthusiasm.

"No. …Why?" he asked. Hisoka's smile widened into a grin as she indulged in the explanation of the things that she loved doing. And Luffy listened. Of course he didn't understand half of it, and of course she had to go back and put things in simpler terms frequently, but once again, Hisoka didn't mind. Because she was smiling. She didn't feel so vulnerable. Sure, there were still thousands of unanswered questions in her head, but she could ignore them for now. Although, there was one that was sticking out more than the rest.

How could a boy with a goofy grin and a straw hat change so many things with just one sentence? And, of course, that was followed by other questions that branched off of that one. How did he ever manage to give a new meaning to the word 'change'? A meaning that Hisoka didn't hate? Hisoka didn't care if she never got an answer to those questions, though. She knew she would be happy no matter what the answer was. Because now she was a pirate. And she didn't really understand what that meant, but she was happy about it.

Hisoka faced everything that she didn't really want to see the next day, by leaving her hiding place and venturing back into the center of Happy Island. Everyone was so delighted to see her. She was so proud that she was able to smile back at them when they ran up to her and hugged her and screamed of their joy. They told her how much they missed her, how sorry they were. They promised to rebuild her home; they would make an exact replica. They presented her with brand new sewing materials, everything she had lost and missed. Fabric, buttons, ribbons, zippers, lace, needles, and spools of thread in every color of the rainbow. Those things brought tears of happiness to her eyes as she hugged everyone back. She had missed them. She would miss them. She couldn't deny it. But she was also unable to break the news of her decision to them just yet. Hisoka wasn't that strong. So she didn't say anything, and for a little while just pretended that she would be there forever.

Luffy sat with his crew, minus Hisoka, and chatted away with them about the random things he always talked about. He was hungry, he was bored, he was tired, and he wanted to go to the Grand Line already. And while practically everyone in the village surrounded Hisoka, creating an air of pure rejoice that filled the entire island, Suki slowly approached the group of pirates. She stood next to them, her eyes lingering on Hisoka's face when Misoa approached her with a baby Sakura, who was squealing with glee when she saw her godmother. Hisoka accepted the child into her arms without hesitation, without faltering, without a bit of fear or worry. She looked honestly happy. It touched the woman's heart.

Suki turned and addressed the pirates that were gathered next to her. "Hisoka will probably be joining you on your adventures."

Nobody could get in a word before Luffy interjected, "Of course she is. I have to repeat myself a lot around here." Suki gave him the same response of silence that Hisoka had given him so often. She looked at him with a wise expression before smiling softly. She stole a long glance at the happy crowd before sighing and looking back to the group beside her.

"Be patient with her," Suki said. It didn't sound like she was giving them advice. It was like she was demanding it. "I made her life difficult. If you ever see her and think that she is crazy, know that she is feeling extremely unsure about her standing in this world."

"What?" Luffy asked after a second of just staring at the woman with a completely confused expression.

"Don't question me," Suki said, her voice taking on a stern edge, suddenly feeling a bit of hostility for the people that would be taking away the saint. "Just remember that! Can you do that?"

"Yes, we can," Nami answered, glaring at Luffy when he tried to respond. He quickly forgot about Suki and looked at Nami, questioning her as to why she was looking at him like that. Nami rolled her eyes and ignored her captain, looking back up at Suki's expectant expression. "I'll make sure he remembers," she confirmed. The older woman nodded, turning and facing away from the group once again.

"She doesn't know a lot," Suki said, still eyeing crowd around the brunette. "She's never ventured off of this island. Keep her on the boat and out of the sea, okay?" Suki didn't even wait for a response. She just walked away from the group and returned back to her home, where she sat and prepared dinner for one.

She had to admit, it was different when Hisoka wasn't around. Suki considered herself to be as much as a mother to that girl as Hinari was—if not more of a mother—if not her real mother. So, it wasn't as fun preparing a dinner for one. Suki was sure Hisoka knew that. That was probably why she wanted such a big family. She would never get lonely.

Suki was going to miss her daughter. But, she knew that she would always have memories of bringing that perfect angel into this world. She would just have to get used to not having her around. Everyone would. If Hisoka had learned how to live without her parents there to make her happy, then they could all go through the pain of learning how to live without their saint.

It was three days after Hisoka had rejoined the village that she loved so much. Three days after Hisoka had made Eri give back the treasure she had stolen from Nami. It was two days after she had told them all of her decision. Some cried and shouted, others blamed Luffy and his crew, but sooner or later they all came around to the idea. They didn't have any other choice. Hisoka just wasn't changing her mind. Hisoka was so lucky that she was so strong. Otherwise, she knew that she would have been in tears when the children of the village ran up to her on the day of her departure and clung to the skirt of her dress, screaming and crying into it. Hisoka only had three bags that she was bringing with her. They were filled mostly with materials to make clothing and the clothes that she had already made. Suki had given her a letter, but she had made Hisoka promise not to read it until she was on the boat and departed from the shore.

"I love you guys, you all know that. You're all so strong; you'll be fine without me. I know it," Hisoka said softly, running her fingers through the hair of the children surrounding her, trying to hug them all back at once. They threw different scenarios at her. What if they lost their favorite toy? What if they fell down a hill? What if someone called them a mean name? What if they were crying?

"You all have amazing parents," she reminded them. "They will be able to make your tears go away in ways that I never could. And it's not like I'm going away forever. I'll be back." They all shook their heads and sobbed some more. "How about this, then? Why don't you all write down all of the problems you have in a little book and when I come back I will go over each and every one with all of you. Okay? That's a promise."

The children sniffled, still sobbing and screaming as their parents were forced to come and take their children away from Hisoka. Even as they did so, they looked regretful. There was still such a wonderfully kind smile on her face, even as she was saying her goodbyes. Nobody knew how much her heart was hurting. She felt like it was pulling itself out and trying to escape her chest to stay on this island with everyone it had grown up with. Misoa approached Hisoka, patting her face with a handkerchief as she sobbed softly. She put Sakura into her arms, backing away slightly.

"I—I was hoping she could grow up with you here for her," Misoa said through her sobs. "You're her godmother, you know."

Hisoka gazed at her lovingly before looking down at the child in her arms. Sakura knew that her mother was crying. She knew that something was going on. Her expression told Hisoka that, the way she looked up at her and reached for Hisoka's face with her tiny hands and a desperate look on her face. Hisoka pulled her closer, allowing her to dig her tiny fingers into her cheeks and tug at her skin. For the first time during this ceremony, tears loomed in Hisoka's eyes. She gave the child a wider smile, laughing out softly. "It'll be okay. You'll be okay. Don't worry, don't worry. I'll come back. Really, I will. How could I ignore such a precious face?" Hisoka just gazed down at the child, who suddenly broke into sobs. Misoa came and fetched her infant from Hisoka's grasp.

Hisoka looked at the mother and child pairing, her smile still visible. "You're an amazing mother, Misoa. She'll be fine without me."

"Don't say that!" Misoa begged, crying openly with the child as she patted her baby girl on the back. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"And I'll miss you, too. I'll miss everyone. But you'll all be fine." Throughout the entire ordeal, her posture was perfect and her presence was elegant. Hisoka dealt with a few more goodbyes before approaching Captain Shinkotu, who was standing strong with all of his men. They would depart from the island in a few days.

She placed her hand on the captain's chest before looking up at him. "Are you ready for that favor I asked of you?" The man nodded. He looked so confident. So strong. So brave. So happy. Hisoka was overjoyed that she could help him reach the point where he could hold such an expression sincerely. "Once you leave this island, I need you to spread a word far and wide. Have all the men that you say this to repeat it to all of the men that they know. I want all of East Blue to know this about me."

"What is it you want me to say?"

"Tell them that this Devil-Pleasure Goddess they are all looking for no longer resides on Happy Island. She abandoned it. Tell them that she is now a…pirate, out on the open sea."

"Where should I tell them to look for you?"

Hisoka paused. Luffy saved her the trouble of coming up with an answer. "Tell them that she is on the crew of Monkey D. Luffy, of course!" Hisoka nodded. Captain Shinkotu agreed.

"You know that that means that those after her will come looking for us, right?" Nami asked. Luffy was an idiotic person. He may not know what he was getting himself into.

"So? We're strong! We can take anyone on!" Luffy laughed. And the thing that made Hisoka smile was the fact that he was completely serious. So, she patted the captain on the chest and thanked him from the bottom of her heart. She showed everyone the smile that they had all grown to know. The smile that they had grown to depend on. The smile they weren't sure they would be able to live without. As she turned to board the ship, Luffy and everyone else already waiting for her on the deck, she looked up at their smiles and felt something inside of her grow warm. This ship would be her new home. She would have to find a safe place on it somewhere. Hisoka felt that it wouldn't be as hard as she thought it would be. Suddenly, familiar hands wrapped around Hisoka's legs. She almost fell, but managed to catch herself.

"Don't go, Hisoka-chan! Don't go! Just stay, please, just stay! I don't care what you say, just stay here with us! It won't be the same without you! Hisoka-chan! Hisoka-chan!" Hisoka gazed down at the sobbing Eri. She gently pried the child from her legs, and turned to look back at the sea of the villagers. They were all there to see her off. And they were all looking at her with the exact same expression on their face. They all agreed with Eri, they just couldn't bring themselves to say it out loud.

She drew in a deep breath, her smiling softening slowly. She spoke in the loudest voice she could. "Four years ago, when I ate the Devil Fruit that the merchants brought here, I vowed to protect this island forever. So, please. Allow me to protect you all my way." Hisoka finished off her short speech with a wide, wide grin. She turned and rushed on board, clutching the letter that Suki had given her to her chest as she heard many of the villagers sob softly. She never could have prepared herself for this. Never.

"We're going to pull up the anchor, okay, Hisoka?" Nami informed, giving her a hesitant glance. Hisoka couldn't bring herself to verbally respond, so she just nodded, keeping her head bowed. As the ship slowly started to move away from the shore, Hisoka turned to wave goodbye to everything she once knew and to everything she still loved. But what she saw made it almost impossible for her to hold in her tears. They were all smiling at her, even those that were crying. They were smiling and waving. Chisoya was waving the handkerchief that she had yet to return to Hisoka in the air.

"You better come back so I can return this to you!" she screamed.

"You better come back and make Sakura more clothes!" Misoa shouted.

"I still need you to make Goro a suit!"

"You still have to make me a wedding dress!"

"And I still want you to host my next birthday party!"

"And I want you to be my bridesmaid at my wedding!"

"You have to come back and smile at us again and look us in the eyes!"

Hisoka's shoulders were shaking as she used all she had to hold in her sobs. "Of course!" she shouted in a wavering voice. "I'll see you later!"

"Good luck!"

"You'll be the best pirate ever!"

"Hey, wait a second, that'll be me," Luffy whined from behind Hisoka.

"We'll all be here to say congratulations when you return, Hisoka!" Hiro cried out with a fatherly smile. Hisoka was looking forward to it. She turned her back on them as her tears threatened to overflow. She tore open the letter that Suki had given her, and what she saw had her frozen for a mere second. Waterfalls were pouring down her face automatically, and she didn't care. She dropped the letter on the ground, turned around, and screamed at the top of her lungs, leaning over the edge of the ship as far out as she could.

"That's dangerous," Zoro warned.

"MAMA SUKI!" Hisoka screamed, catching sight of the older woman pushing her way to the front of the group. They all looked so far away, but that was proof that they could still hear her if she screamed. "Mama Suki, I am going to come back with the perfect husband, and you better help me have the best children ever!"

She squinted through her tears in time to see Suki grin and say something to Hiro, who stood next to her. His loud voice managed to reach her. "FOUR, RIGHT!?"

Hisoka sobbed loudly, screaming, "OR MORE!" And then all Hisoka could do was wave at the fading image of her island and her loved ones until they were gone from her sight. Nami led her to the chambers where she would be sleeping along with her, Zoro having already carried her bags into the room.

"What made her cry so much?" Luffy asked randomly.

"Whatever was in that letter, apparently. I bet it was something touching!" Usopp said, tears pouring down his face. Luffy walked forward and picked up the letter that Hisoka had dropped to the floor.

"So? What does it say?" Zoro asked after a few moments of Luffy's silence.

"It doesn't make any sense," Luffy complained with a frustrated frown.

"Just give it to me," Zoro said with an annoyed sigh, swatting it out of Luffy's hand. He wondered if the boy could even read. He read it out loud, "I will perfect the process while you are away. So, come back with a good man. If it isn't someone that I approve of, I refuse to help." Everyone was quiet.

"You're right, that doesn't make any sense," Usopp said.

"Then why are you still crying?" Luffy asked. Usopp sobbed something about being a sensitive captain of the sea. Zoro just stared down at the letter he still held in his hand. Their new seamstress was a very weird woman.


	8. Tests

"Hisoka? What's wrong? You aren't really saying much."

Hisoka didn't respond. She didn't even move. She wasn't ignoring Nami, although she also wasn't giving her any kind of expression that show that she had even heard her. She just sat there on the deck—fabric, needle, and thread all in hand—just staring out at the sea. The thing that caught Nami's attention—besides the fact that she hadn't been contributing to the conversation and theatrics that were taking place on the Going Merry—was the fact that, even though Hisoka was still smiling, she didn't appear to be happy in the least.

"Hisoka? Are you feeling sea-sick again?" Usopp asked, putting down some experiment he was working on to pay attention to the far-off girl. Hisoka let out a grumble at the words he spoke. She didn't want to be reminded of those horrible, terrible, awful first couple of weeks on the Going Merry—the nausea, the headaches, the body pains, the dizziness, the fatigue. It made Hisoka regret ever leaving land. At times she had even begged Nami, who would help Hisoka hold back her hair when she was throwing up, to turn the Going Merry around and take her home. Nami had just patted her back, an action that was supposed to comfort the girl, but only made her hurl into the ocean once again.

Why did Hisoka ever _leave _solid ground? What was wrong with her head? There were several contributing factors that Hisoka could have placed the blame on, but there was one that was a lot more obvious than the others. Her captain. A boy that would have grown on her if it weren't for the way he and everyone else reacted to her illness. Although they all expressed some level of concern at one point in time or another, none of them did anything that made her feel better. The only reactions that she appreciated were Usopp's and Nami's.

While Usopp would voice his sympathy and worry for her when she was feeling remotely healthy, the second she went green in the face and her eyes started rolling in their sockets as she stumbled to the edge of the ship, he would avoid her completely. That was something that Hisoka understood, and she didn't mind it one bit because of the fact that he never actually showed any of his disgust around her. Zoro, on the other hand, never really ran away from her in time. While she was in the throes of the evilly rocking ocean, he would groan in revolt over the odor and complain that her moaning was keeping him awake. He wasn't saying these things to her, of course, but his voice was loud enough for her to hear. It only made her feel twenty times worse, even if he never meant for her to hear it. Then there was Nami, whose kind ability to give Hisoka enough space to curse her life while at the same time knowing when to rush to her side to hold her hair outweighed the fact that whenever Hisoka was feeling well enough to comprehend speech, Nami would press her for details on how her clothing was coming along. Hisoka had promised her that as long as she continued to comfort her the way she was, Hisoka would never make another thing until she fulfilled all of Nami's requests. Nami was most certainly happy to oblige.

"Huh? What's going on?" Hisoka didn't even have to look to know whose voice that was. She was sure that even if she hadn't seen him in dozens of years, she would still be able to identify him by his obnoxious voice. It would haunt her nightmares, and bless her dreams, for the rest of her life.

"We think there's something wrong with Hisoka," Usopp informed.

"Why? What'd she do?"

"She's been like this for a while."

"Huh?" There it was. The one thing Hisoka didn't want to hear—his footsteps approaching her. She closed her eyes and refrained from growling at him like a rabid dog. She knew what followed his nearing footsteps. "Oi, Hisoka! You gonna hurl again? Heeheehee! Just keep the puke outside of the boat, okay?" Hisoka let out a loud groan, refraining from shooing him away with her hands—or with other, more immoral methods. This was what had ruined her life up to this point in time. She could have dealt with their disgust. She could have found some way to ignore the angered looks. But she could never ignore his voice. It was addicting. In her mind, Luffy was the equivalent of a drug that lost all of its positive effects the second you needed them the most.

"Oh, Luffy, just go away! You're not making her feel any better!" Nami shouted upon seeing the agony creeping up in the corner of Hisoka's eyes. Hisoka really, really, really loved Nami at times like these. She was the only one who understood her. Seeing as how they shared a room, the two had bonded fairly quickly.

"Whaaaat? What'd I do wrong?" Luffy cried. He sounded like a child who had painted all over the walls and was convinced that they had done nothing wrong. That was what got under Hisoka's skin the most. He, Nami, and she went through this cycle at least a hundred times for the first couple of weeks she was a part of the crew.

Hisoka would be leaning over the boat, crying in pain, convinced that she was hallucinating. That had to be it, she would tell herself. She was so dehydrated that she was delusional. Luffy just couldn't be laughing at her like every groan out of her mouth was a joke. He just couldn't be. That would be too cruel, too horrible, too mean. It was all too true, though. He would make comments on the color of her face. Sometimes she looked like a palm tree and sometimes she looked like a ghost. She walked like an old granny and her cries of pain made him think of a sea monster. After she had finally reached a point in time where there was nothing left in her stomach for her to be rid of, Luffy would recommend that she eat something, that it would help her feel better. Maybe, besides all the throwing up, all of her pain was caused by hunger, he would suggest. Then he would stuff his face right before her eyes. If that wasn't bad enough, he would continue to talk about how good it tasted while there was still food in his mouth. Then Nami, her sweet, sweet, saint who wanted free clothing more than anything, would scream at Luffy as though she was his mother. Everything would have been a little bit better if it weren't for the way Luffy reacted. He was completely clueless that he was being the biggest bully in the world. He would even look to Hisoka and ask her to back him up. Of course, the only way she could respond would be to turn around and fumble her way into her room and slam the hatch closed. It was all she could do. This sea was testing her self-control.

"Hey, Hisoka, talk to us," Nami finally insisted, sitting in front of Hisoka and forcefully making eye contact with her when reaching out and tapping her knee didn't grab her attention. Hisoka lifted her head for the first time in was seemed like hours, and she stared back at Nami. Her smile wasn't even there. Nami had learned that Hisoka's emotions weren't expressed the way they typically were in normal people. They were expressed through tiny, tiny changes in her smile. When her smile wasn't there, it was a shock to them. It had to mean that something was truly, truly ailing her. "Hisoka," Nami said in a slightly louder voice.

Hisoka's brows pressed together as she opened her lips, moaning out, "Namiiiiii. How can this be?" Unwillingly, her voice came out sounding whiney, which reminded her of Luffy all too much.

Nami and Usopp relaxed slightly. Her voice didn't sound like it did when she felt sea-sick. She had finally gotten used to the movements of the Going Merry just this week. They would have shot themselves if they started to get to her again. Luffy just stared on. He wasn't able to notice things the way the others were. Zoro's lack of response was due to the fact that he was fast asleep. "What are you talking about, Hisoka?" Nami asked, leaning back from her slightly and running a hand through her hair, now caring a whole lot less.

Hisoka stared at her with a helpless expression before she let her head fall back and she cried out, "It's so hot!" Lifting her hands, she wiped some sweat of her face before digging her nails into her scalp, shoving her bangs away. "I hate the sun! This is torture!" she complained. It was very unlike her to complain like this, but Hisoka just couldn't help it. The sun was getting to her. It resembled Luffy. It was laughing at her and turning her into one big joke, all the while wearing a straw hat and enjoying the shade it provided. She hated it. Sure, she was happier than anyone on the ocean that she had finally overcome sea-sickness. Zoro had kindly mentioned that he knew of some people that were never able to overcome it and they had to deal with it for the rest of their lives. So when she awoke one morning and didn't feel like shooting herself with one of the Going Merry's cannons, she was practically in tears of joy. Yet, now that she didn't have that agonizing pain to distract her from all the other aspects of the ocean, she was stuck with them. The heat was unbearable.

"How can you stand it?" Hisoka asked, letting her hands fall back into her lap. She looked completed defeated. She was certainly failing whatever test the sea was throwing at her.

"You were outside a lot on Happy Island, right? The heat didn't seem to bother you then," Nami said with light confusion.

Hisoka looked at her with wide eyes. "Of course it didn't!" she exclaimed. "There were trees and shade." Hisoka waved her hand around in a circle, motioning to the entire deck of the boat. "But there is no shade here. None whatsoever." Hisoka honestly couldn't believe that she hadn't burnt to a crisp yet. Nami shrugged her shoulders with a kind smirk on her face. The smirk dropped automatically when Hisoka looked down at the half of a shirt that she was working on earlier. "I can't work when I feel like this. I just can't concentrate. I keep pricking my fingers."

"Well, why don't you go into the women's chamber? The sun won't be beating down on you in there," Usopp recommended. Nami nodded quickly, looking at Hisoka like that was the best idea ever.

"I tried that already," Hisoka sighed. "Sure, it's a bit cooler, but it's so muggy and there's no breeze. It's better out here." Hisoka looked back up at the blue sky. She never thought that where she was right now could be better than anything. Nami let out an aggravated sigh.

The captain finally gave his input. "I don't get why you're so unhappy," Luffy whined, giving Hisoka a confused look. "It's not hot at all." Hisoka tried her best to ignore him, and Luffy noticed. He had been noticing, and it bothered him. Hisoka was his nakama, but she wasn't acting like it. He understood that when she was feeling sick, but for so many days now she had been chatting cheerfully with everyone about how much better she was feeling. Still, she rarely commented on anything he said. She was still civil around him, he supposed, but that was all. He felt like he was being punished for something he didn't do. It wasn't like he had done anything wrong. When she was sick, he was accommodating. He would suggest ways for her to feel better, and when she looked really sad he would try to make her laugh. But, whenever he tried to talk to her, Nami would sooner or later approach him and scream at him or hit him for no reason at all. They were both being very weird.

"Are there any storms coming, Nami? Any chance of rain, of clouds, of anything other than this sun?" Hisoka asked desperately. Nami looked up at the sky for a few moments before sighing and giving Hisoka frown, shaking her head.

"It should be sunny like this for at least the rest of the day." Hisoka looked like she was holding back sobs. "The sun will be down soon, though, and it's always a lot cooler at night." Nami's good news managed to cheer Hisoka up to the point where she at least looked kind of normal. It gave her something to look forward to. Several minutes later, Hisoka weakly stood to her feet with a sigh.

"Where are you going?" Nami asked, looking away from her newspaper.

"I can't take this anymore," Hisoka murmured, mostly just to herself. Drawing in some hot, humid air, Hisoka looked over her shoulder and gave her friend a soft smile. "I am going to go take a nap. Zoro seems to have the right idea. I'd rather be awake all night when it's bearable out. I promise to have this shirt finished by tomorrow, though, okay?" Nami nodded, giving her a smile in return. Everyone went back to what they were doing. So, nobody really noticed the fact that they didn't hear the door to the storage room, which had to be entered to arrive in the women's chambers, open or close. They didn't really notice the fact that Hisoka was leaning against the railing on the boat, staring down at the sea with a conflicted look on her face, instead of taking the route she had claimed. Nobody was really paying enough attention to see Hisoka put down her sewing materials—because certainly someone would have reached out and stopped Hisoka when she carefully lifted her body over the railing and sat there, her body swaying to and fro with the movement of the waves. Certainly someone would have at least expressed concern when she broke into one of the widest grins anyone had ever seen.

"Woohoo!" she cried giddily. Her loud exclamation of pure joy was so unusual, something they had never heard from Hisoka, seeing as how she had always been ill while on the ship, that it finally had everyone staring at her as she pinched her nose shut and covered her mouth with her hand and leapt into the sea. Even after hearing the loud splash of her body entering the ocean, the entire ship was stock still. They all just stared at the spot where Hisoka used to be sitting. Nami and Usopp's faces lost all color as everyone on the boat simultaneously let out a shrill shriek. That noise was enough to knock Zoro out of his slumber.

"W-What?" he grumbled. He found himself fully awake when he saw the looks on everyone's face. "What's going on?" he asked, climbing to his feet.

"H-H-Hi-Hisoka!" Usopp cried, practically falling over. Zoro gave him a confused look, noticing that when he looked around the deck he didn't see the seamstress anywhere.

"She jumped into the ocean!" Nami shrieked, suddenly leaping to her feet and, along with everyone else, gazing over the railing where they saw the small bubbles coming up.

"Didn't she eat a Devil Fruit?" Luffy asked with wide eyes.

"That idiot! What the hell is she thinking!?" Zoro cried, automatically jumping into the ocean as he had done many times before to save Luffy.

"Luffy, why the hell didn't you stop her?" Nami asked angrily. The captain could have reached her from any distance with his rubbery limbs. He could have pulled her back and smacked some sense into her, for sure.

"Maybe she's a mermaid," Luffy mumbled.

Everyone stared, ignoring Luffy's response and stuck in complete anticipation as Zoro surfaced from the water only a few moments later, holding a gasping, coughing, shaking, and sputtering Hisoka to his side. Her eyes held something that resembled pure terror. With help from Luffy, Zoro and Hisoka were quickly pulled onto the boat, both of them soaking wet. While Zoro looked entirely aggravated, Hisoka looked partially horrified and partially confused. As she tried her best to support herself, Nami came to her side and patted her back as she continued to cough up water onto the deck.

Hisoka felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness randomly, completely cut off from those around her. She could hear them screaming and shouting things, but it was like they were speaking a different language. She felt so tired and completely shocked. That had to have been a nightmare. A result of the heat going to her head. She felt woozy and her head felt scrambled as she closed her eyes as the colors seemed to fade from her vision. Even as she slipped into some sort of mental shut down, her body was still heaving and wheezing to get all the salty water out of her body. The sea must really hate her. Something hit her hard on the back and she snapped her eyes open, back in the real world.

It seemed like Hisoka was trying to get some words out of her mouth. "Oh," cough, "my," cough, "God!"

"What the hell were you thinking, you idiot!?" Zoro snapped as he wiped some of the water off of his face. "You're worse than Luffy!"

"I know you thought it was hot, but you didn't have to take such drastic measures!" Usopp shouted.

"What was going through your head?" Nami asked in a harsh voice. Luffy stared down at Hisoka, narrowing his eyes as he seemed to be trying to remember something. When Hisoka had finally gotten all of water out of her lungs, she looked up at them, panting for breath. She was staring at them like _they _were the ones that had just tried to kill themselves.

"Don't say things like that!" she barked. Though she was obviously trying to sound annoyed, the only thing they really got from the way she spoke was that she was out of breath.

"You just tried to kill yourself!" Zoro roared.

"What are you talking about?" Hisoka said, coughing softly in between her heaves.

"Why would you ever jump into the sea like that?" Usopp asked.

"I don't know what happened down there!" she shrieked once she had enough breath in her lungs to defend herself. "But I most certainly know how to swim! I just wanted to cool myself off!" Hisoka was trying to keep her voice calm, but it was oddly impossible for her to not get defensive with the way they were all staring at her. They were looking down on her, and for some reason that felt completely unforgivable to her. It practically boiled her blood. The rush that jolted through her body when she jumped off the boat was the most amazing thing she had ever felt. Before she realized that she couldn't move, she felt like she was in heaven. When they looked at her like that, she couldn't help but feel criticized when all she wanted to do was dwell on that wonderful emotion.

"People like you never go into the sea, obviously! Did the heat go to your head that much?" Nami scolded.

Hisoka felt some horrible emotion begin to seep onto her face as she stared at Nami. "People like me? What is that supposed to mean?"

"People that have eaten a Devil Fruit!" Usopp exclaimed. Hisoka's glare fell away as she turned her head to stare at him, still trying to catch her breath.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Hisoka asked him, raising an eyebrow. To her, it sounded like he was just spewing out random facts about her and trying to place blame on them. "I'm sure it was just some kind of cramp—for maybe I fainted or something from the shock of the temperature change."

"Hey, guys," Luffy said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. It surprised them that he sounded so normal, like one of his nakama hadn't just committed a suicidal act. "Didn't that weird old lady say something to us?"

"What are you talking about, Luffy?" Nami asked with a sigh.

"You know, about something like this! That old lady that was screaming at me before."

"A lot of people scream at you, Luffy."

"Yeah, but she said something that has to do with a situation like this. I'm sure of it!" Luffy argued. "Like, uh…. To keep Hisoka eating oats and out of the leaves?" Everyone just stared at him. He lifted his hands, plopping one fist down into his open palm as though he had just found the answer to everything. "So let's get her some oats!"

"Oats?" Zoro asked questionably.

"That's stupid and it doesn't make any sense!" Usopp barked suddenly.

"No, no! She said to keep Hisoka _in the boat _and _out of the sea_, I remember," Nami suddenly said in a confident voice. Nami looked down at Hisoka, who had gotten into a more comfortable position and seemed to be ignoring their conversation as she tried to regain control of her breathing pattern. "She said other stuff, too, about Hisoka not knowing a lot of things."

"So, wait a second. Hisoka!" Zoro called. Hisoka raised her head and looked at him. "Don't you know that eating a Devil Fruit means you're like a hammer in water?" Everyone quietly and expectantly stared at Hisoka's face, awaiting her answer. Hisoka just stared at Zoro with an unchanging expression, the ends of her hair dripping wet. The intense sun had already managed to dry off the top of her head for the most part. She reached up and moved some of her hair behind her ear before responding.

"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about. That sounds completely preposterous." Everyone stared at her. They couldn't really believe that she was serious. Although, Luffy's sudden burst of laughter and the way Hisoka turned and looked at him with confusion proved to them all that that was exactly what she was.

"How could a Devil Fruit user not know something like that!?" Usopp asked, his face screaming of shock and disbelief. The only preposterous thing that he could see was Hisoka.

Hisoka gave him the same look she had given both Luffy and Zoro. "Don't tell me you're being serious," she requested, her voice quavering slightly.

"You've seen how Luffy is in the water. Zoro always has to jump in and save him," Nami said. When she had Hisoka's attention, she continued, "That's because he ate a Devil Fruit."

"No way," Hisoka said with a small gasp. "I just assumed that he was a really bad swimmer." Some of the crew members laughed under their breath. Slight regret for her lack of control darted through the depths of her eyes, but it was hardly noticeable to her.

"Nope!" Luffy chimed. "When you eat a Devil Fruit you can't swim. You would have been a goner if we weren't here! Dead and gone!"

"If it wasn't like that, I'm sure every pirate would be out there searching for one," Zoro said. The others agreed with him. Hisoka slowly placed both of her hands on the deck, gazing at each of their expressions before looking down at the wet floor. They couldn't be serious, could they? Hisoka bit down on her lip.

"I didn't know," she murmured to herself. She had always known that men of the sea avoided eating these fruits, but she didn't exactly know why. This was the last thing she expected. Her mind was rushing as she tried her hardest to remember. What was it like? The feeling of the water surrounding your body, the rocking of the current, the scent of the ocean? When was the last time she went swimming? When she was a child. She could see herself in the ocean, laughing happily. She must have enjoyed it. So why couldn't she recall what it felt like? Absentmindedly, she reached up and clutched at her chest.

"Hey, Hisoka! Are you even listening to us?" Hisoka jerked her head up, pushing the thoughts she was having to the back of her head.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at an annoyed Luffy.

"You okay, Hisoka?" Nami asked, ever so slightly worried. Hisoka bowed her head for a mere second before looking back up with a wide grin.

"Of course! Sorry for doing something like that, I really didn't have any idea that that was going to happen. I won't be doing anything like that ever again, I assure you."

Sounding as though he was repeating himself, Zoro asked out, "Didn't you eat the Devil Fruit four years ago?"

"That's right," Hisoka said, her cheerful voice back as though it had never left.

"And you didn't realize something that big in all that time?" Nami asked.

"Not really," Hisoka said with a soft laugh.

"I thought you said you knew how to swim," Zoro reminded.

"I do know how to swim!" Hisoka said, her voice taking on a slightly defensive edge. She halted her speech, her lips twitching and her shoulders shaking slightly before she resumed. She sighed gently, the spark that threatened to ignite her eyes gone completely. "I used to swim all the time when I was a child."

"What you did was still really dangerous, then! Why did you expect that you would remember how to swim?" Usopp threw in.

"Why haven't you since?" Nami asked.

Hisoka was quiet for a while, her brows furrowed and her lips gently pursed. After a second, she responded to Nami, "I'm not sure, really. I just haven't that much time, I suppose. Especially after I got my eyes, I was always really busy." As Nami nodded understandingly, Usopp pressed for further explanation. After a moment's hesitation, Hisoka elaborated, "When introduced with something like this, my island kind of…. Well, everyone was always around me. I didn't get my contacts until sometime into my second year after eating the Devil Fruit. Before then, when I was feeling heightened emotions I would return to my home, but when I was calm enough to go outside, everyone wanted to talk to me. I was very easy to talk to, they all said. So I was just always talking to a lot of people or at my house."

Everyone had their own reaction to what Hisoka said, but they all dealt with it silently. Hisoka never really spoke about herself or her island. Zoro, who was already in a very relaxed position, leaning up against the railing of the ship, was the first to voice a response. "Is that why you're always smiling?"

Luffy, who hadn't really been paying much attention to the conversation, suddenly seemed completely interested. He gazed at Hisoka along with everyone else. They didn't know that much about their new crewmate, but it was true that she was smiling almost all the time. Even when she was sea-sick, as long as she felt well enough to stop hurling, she was smiling. Certainly she wasn't smiling as nonstop as she did when she was on Happy Island, but she still smiled enough for everyone to find it slightly odd—if not creepy—at one point in time or another. Luffy had convinced himself that even if Hisoka relaxed her face completely, she would still be smiling. It was like it was programed into her muscles. It was like it was something she couldn't control. She certainly made it seem like she had to put effort into _not_ smiling.

Even as Hisoka stared at Zoro silently with wide eyes, there was still a soft smile on her face. Shaking off her caution, Hisoka shook her head. "No, I'm just always in a good mood!" And Hisoka sounded completely serious when she said that with a grin on her face. So, they all accepted her words for the most part. Soon, everything went back to the normal flow. Usopp was still at times cracking jokes about Hisoka's earlier actions, but other than that, it was like it had never happened. Hisoka was engaging in the conversation again, her smile wide and obvious. She was having a really good time. After a few minutes, she grabbed up her sewing materials and told Nami that she was going to get back to work. She didn't regret jumping into the water; it really had cooled her off.

When the sun lingered low in the sky, Nami joined Hisoka in their room, taking a seat on her bed as she searched through some of her treasure with a look of pleasure on her face. Hisoka greeted her politely, but then they both went back to what they were doing. When the two were engaged in what they loved doing, neither of them ever felt it necessary to talk to one another.

Although, after a while, Nami put down her things and began to get settled in her bed. "Hey, Hisoka?"

"Hmmm?" Hisoka asked, never looking up from the shirt she was working on for Nami.

"Before you jumped off the boat, didn't you wonder for even a second how you were going to get back on, or what would happen if you hit your head, or something along those lines?" After Nami's question hit Hisoka's mind, she stopped what she was doing. Nami truly was curious. The Hisoka she had gotten to know was a sort of cautious, hesitant girl that rarely did anything so rash.

Hisoka turned around in her chair, staring at Nami's awaiting expression. Faced with a dilemma, she decided to answer Nami as honestly as she could. She put her sewing materials gently down on her desk before giving Nami all of her attention. "I don't really understand it myself, you know," she confessed. Hisoka didn't really know if she ever would be able to give people reasons for why she did things. "I did consider those possibilities. I really wasn't going to do something like that; I was just fantasizing about the idea. I thought about how cool the water would be, how nice it would feel. So, to reason with myself, I began to ask myself those questions—what would happen after I jumped, what if I was injured, what, how, why…. I was imagining that I would just walk back in here and fall asleep, maybe even laugh about my thoughts later. But the second I realized that there was a possibility nobody would be able to get me out of the water, or that you guys possibly wouldn't notice that I had jumped, I just… Well, it was the most exciting thing in the world. The idea made me happy. So I just jumped."

Nami stared at her silently for a few moments, her expression one of reminiscence. She shrugged her shoulders, Hisoka letting out an inaudible sigh of relief when she realized that Nami accepted her response. Hisoka returned to her work and Nami flipped onto her back, staring up at the ceiling of their room. "Hisoka?" she asked again in a slightly tired voice a few minutes later.

"Yes?" Hisoka acknowledged in a softer voice.

"What do you want to find out here on the ocean?" Hisoka didn't respond for a while. Nami clarified, "I mean, what's your dream?"

Hisoka didn't waste any time in responding to that question. "To have a family," she said optimistically.

"What kind of family?" Nami asked.

"I want at least four children," Hisoka explained cheerfully. Talking about her dreams always ignited a special kind of happiness inside of her.

"…That's all?" Nami pressed.

Slightly taken aback, Hisoka responded, "Or more, of course."

"Is that why you read all of those books?" she inquired. Hisoka nodded as a soft blush overtook her face. She was happy they weren't facing each other. Hisoka had a small collection of books that she hoped would grow. Nami had seen her reading them, completely engrossed by the words on the pages, from time to time. She only ever read them when she was alone or with Nami in their bedroom. Nami assumed that the reason for that was because a lot of the books were meant for to-be-mothers. Most of her collection was made up of those books, the others about child and adolescent psychology or something that had to do with sewing or designing.

"Yes," Hisoka said. "I enjoy reading them. It's not that I fear my ability to be a good mother; I just want to know as much about children as I possibly can. I want to make my family the happiest family around." Nami held back from asking Hisoka why she didn't just use her eyes. She had some idea as to what her answer would have been.

"You daydream about your family a lot, right?"

Hisoka laughed in a girlish manner. "I can't say that I never think about it."

"So, you mean to tell me, when you imagine your family, you imagine yourself and your children?"

"M'hmmm."

"You don't imagine your ideal guy, or your dream wedding?" Silence filled the room. "You sort of need a guy to be able to have kids."

Hisoka suddenly stopped what she was doing at her desk, her eyes widening slightly. She was silent for almost too long before she answered. "No," Hisoka mumbled. "I guess I never have. I just imagine everything being very…happy and perfect." The blissful feeling Hisoka filled the room with when speaking about her dream was spoiled by a solemn undertone in her voice. She calmly returned back to her work, Nami rolling over in her bed and closing her eyes. Hisoka felt worry swim around in her gut. Hisoka didn't really have to go out of her way to seek out the perfect one for her, did she? If fate would just bring them together, that would have been perfect.

"What would you do for that family?" Nami's voice was weighed down by exhaustion to such a degree that Hisoka could barely make it out. "How far would you go to achieve your dream?"

A pensive frown was etched upon Hisoka's face. "I suppose I would do…almost anything for them." Her smile returned. Yes, she had confidence in that answer. Her love for them would be so strong—she would do anything at all for them.

"Yeah," Nami whispered. The guilt that laced Nami's words was so subtle that Hisoka didn't pick up on it. "Anything. …Almost anything."


	9. Adjustments

**Author's Note: Hello, and thank you for reading the ninth chapter of Kyou-Kyou Love! I hope you are enjoying the story. There was just one thing that I wanted to clear up for you guys. That is, why exactly this story is rated 'M'.**

**KKL! is rated M because in future chapters I use a good amount of curse words and I write some pretty in-depth, very detailed, violent fight scenes. In the very, very distant future I have plans for some smut, too. So, yeah, that's why I chose to rate it 'M'. If you guys think that I should change the rating, please tell me. I'm really not used to or ratings. I was following the guidelines but it seems to me that a lot of people on here only rate lemons or detailed smut 'M', and it's harder to get viewers when your story is rated M, because people may come expecting sex, sex, and more sex. Anyway I just wanted to talk to you guys about that. **

**I am having a lot of fun revising all of these chapters and reposting them. It's so much fun reliving the KKL experience. ;u; Please enjoy the ninth chapter! (I happen to really like this one!)**

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"How is it?" As Hisoka spoke, she resembled a child standing in front of a candy store. She was restlessly shifting her feet and playing with her hands, all the while staring at the curtain hanging from the ceiling of the women's chambers on the Going Merry. Her green eyes were wide with eager anticipation. Her smile was giddier than usual. Her excitement started to grow out her control, and she bit down on her lip in an attempt to withhold it. "Nami?" she pressed with enthusiastic impatience. "Do you like it? How does it look?" Hisoka had minimal control over the words dancing off of her tongue.

"U-Um." Hisoka's smile dropped when she heard Nami's worried stutter from the other side of the curtain. She could hear her friend shifting about, grumbling now and again. "Just give me a second," Nami breathed nervously. Hisoka leaned backwards, her brows pressing down on her eyes, which were quickly losing their whimsical incitement. Her smile was lost to tightly pursed lips.

"What's going on?" Hisoka's question darted from her soft lips like a bullet. Yet, she was sure she was more shocked than Nami was by the sharpness of her tongue. This had been happening to her a lot recently. Irritability, a shorter temper, violent urges, angry thoughts—they were all very precise antonyms of Hisoka, yet she was carrying them on her shoulders as though they were her key personality traits. It was one of the most unsettling things Hisoka had to face. The naturally happy girl covered her mouth with her hands as she bit down painfully on her lower lip. Her expression slowly relaxed. "I mean, is something the matter? Are you okay?" Hisoka clasped her hands in front of her once she successfully voiced the question that she had meant to ask. She exposed her gentle smile and anxiety rippled through her eyes.

She heard Nami sigh softly before groaning. "Well, you see, um," Nami grumbled. "There's just a little problem, Hisoka."

"A problem?" Hisoka repeated, cautious of the answer she was going to receive. That was the last thing she had expected to hear from her crewmate.

Still behind the curtain, Nami grumbled incoherently under her breath. "Erm," she muttered before sighing loudly once again. "It needs to be bigger in some areas."

"Bigger?" Hisoka practically gasped. She hadn't taken Nami's measurements, but she hadn't thought that it was necessary. The navigator always wore clothes that showed off a lot of her natural form, and Hisoka had trusted her eye and instinct as a seamstress. They hadn't failed her before.

"Yeah," Nami spoke. The curtain was suddenly pushed aside carelessly and Nami took a step into the room. She stared down at her body before looking back to Hisoka with an irked expression on her face. The brunette's eyes went wide as a look of frenzied alarm spread across her face.

"O-Oh my! Nami, I'm so sorry! I—I didn't…! Oh, oh…" Hisoka trailed off as she began to shake her head and clutch at her chest. She was completely caught off guard. This had never happened before and she had no idea how to even go about dealing with this. Nami stood in front of her, hands on her hips as she tapped her foot on the floor. The shirt that Hisoka had finally finished was bunched up tightly over Nami's breasts, exposing her bra and toned stomach. "Oh, Nami, I am so terribly, terribly sorry. Really, I never thought…." Hisoka found herself at a loss for words as Nami exhaled in an exasperated manner.

"It's fine, Hisoka," she declared peevishly, turning on her heels and roughly pulling the curtain closed.

"No it's not," Hisoka corrected quickly. "I don't know how it went so wrong, honestly. I didn't expect it to… I mean, I—well… It won't happen next time, really! I'll fix it. I'll take your measurements and everything from now on will fit you perfectly, I promise."

Nami's sudden laughter as she walked out from behind the curtain, donning her original clothing, cut off Hisoka's speech. She glanced at Hisoka's crestfallen expression, only to have her laughter intensify as she handed back the shirt to Hisoka. The seamstress held her creation out in front of her, staring at it as though it was written proof of her failure. Nami had stretched the shirt out quite severely, yet Hisoka knew better than to comment on such observations. Before she could ponder on how terribly misconstrued her measurements were, Nami finally ceased her laughter long enough to verbalize her thoughts.

"No need to get so flustered, Hisoka," Nami excused with a wave of her hand as she wiped at her eyes. She went about removing the curtain as Hisoka began to fold the shirt with a dejected look on her face. She kept her thoughts to herself as she reached out and gently took the curtain from Nami's hands, laying it out on her bed before folding it neatly. When she finished the folding and set the fabric away in the correct drawer, Hisoka returned to her desk and stared forlornly at her materials. After a few moments of her pitiful silence, Hisoka shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, snapping them open to reveal a perkier smile and a flush of determination.

"You'll love everything I make from now on, Nami. Just wait," Hisoka said confidently. Her hands fished sloppily across her table, snatching up her measuring tape before turning and facing Nami with her refreshed aura.

Nami stared at the bright yellow roll before standing from her bed and stretching slightly. "I'm sure I will," she assured. With a sigh and a wider smile, Hisoka stood up and began to record Nami's measurements. She blinked a few times as she wrote them down, staring at the numbers in disbelief. It took a few moments, but Nami noticed the change in the girl's settled expression. "Hisoka?" she inquired, taking a few steps towards the girl. She leaned forward, analyzing Hisoka's distant, astonished expression and the paper she was gazing at so intently. Confused, Nami questioned, "What is it?"

With a slightly defeated sigh, Hisoka let go of the paper and let it fall to the table, straightening her back as she rested her face in her palm. "I was so off," she grumbled under her breath. Nami's laughter didn't help ease the damage she had taken. The way she patted her heartily on the back only seemed to add to her suffering.

"That must have really hurt your pride, eh?" the model-like girl laughed. "What did you base my measurements on before, anyway?" Hisoka's response was muffled by her hand as she collapsed into her chair. Resting her elbows on her desk, she peeked through her fingers at the numbers she had written down. She quickly closed her eyes again, practically gluing her hands to her face as she groaned. "I can't hear you, Hisoka," Nami called. Hisoka raised her head just enough to see Nami's intent gaze before she sighed and crumbled onto the table, her head resting on a pile of leftover fabric from Nami's blouse. "Hmmm?" Nami pressed. "Now you've got me all curious."

Hisoka's confession came a little while later. It was mumbled under her breath, and the second it was voiced clear enough for Nami to respond, Hisoka regretted ever being truthful. "I think I used my own measurements by accident." And Nami howled with laughter loud enough to attract a curious shout from Luffy. Hisoka hid her red face as Nami shooed Luffy away through her laughs.

"Oh, first your pride as a seamstress, then your femininity? Oh, Hisoka, I'm sorry!" Nami didn't sound at all apologetic. Hisoka let out a few grumbling sounds, not entirely shocked by her desire to kick Nami out of their room. Ever since Nami had mentioned the man that Hisoka never really thought of, she had been concerned way too much about things she used to consider silly. Of course she would hear the teenage girls on Happy Island crying over this and that, begging Hisoka to give their dresses lower necklines, or a cut that would make them look more like an hourglass. Hisoka never understood it, their avid obsession with their figures. Now she was finally able to relate to their misery. She had never before seen a woman with such measurements, such a tiny waist and such a full bust. It was as shocking as an unexpected punch to the gut would be, she assumed.

So engulfed by her own growing despair, Hisoka didn't realize that Nami had finally stopped her hysteria. She jumped slightly when Nami rubbed her shoulder gently. Looking over at this girl that she suddenly envied, she was surprised to see the soft, kind smile on Nami's face. "I'm sure the other clothes that you make will make me really happy, Hisoka. I'm looking forward to them." Nami's smile quickly proved to be infectious. Watching her demeanor slowly warm up, Nami grinned. "It is kind of funny, though, don't you think?" It took Hisoka a few moments, but she slowly began to giggle. Several minutes later, Hisoka and Nami were splitting their sides with uncontrollable laughter, and they couldn't even recall why.

It had been a bit less than a week since Hisoka had finally gotten used to the torturous sun. She was sure that there were other things that would plague in her in the future, much to her despair. Yet, she decided not to dwell on those ideas. Dwelling wasn't something she was really capable of with the antics of her crewmembers. They were always running and talking, laughing and playing. Hisoka was having _fun_.

Hisoka had no idea what it meant to be a pirate. She sometimes felt that she understood the idea better back when she was stuck on Happy Island. They were mean, they were gruff, they searched for treasure and fought with their lives, they grumbled their speech and hated to be insulted, they wanted to be better than everyone and they wanted to own everything, and they probably always reeked of grimy sweat and rum. Although, Luffy and the others had proved her theory to be so horribly wrong that Hisoka wanted to deny she ever thought it up. On the Going Merry, they called each other pirates, but Hisoka always felt like she was at a party. Like she was playing. Like she was with friends.

Hisoka did consider all of these people to be her close, close friends—her nakama. They saved her and they brought change into her life. This was a type change that she never knew of, that she never expected, and it was a change that she loved. She felt so close to all of them. She felt closer to them than she did to a lot of the people on Happy Island. Hisoka couldn't understand it, but she didn't understand a lot of the things that happened since Mama Suki completed her. She thought she was so perfectly happy on her island, with all of her friends, fixing their lives, making them smile. She took care of them and they loved her for it. On the Going Merry, though, Hisoka had expected it to be different. She thought that it would be a replica of her times before she ate the Kyou-Kyou Devil Fruit. They had never seen her eyes, after all. She had never taken care of them. She had never shown them happiness. She had never protected them. They never considered her to be their medicine. They never felt like they needed her. They didn't count on her for anything really important. Yet, she had a feeling that they were taking care of her. And Hisoka had no idea why. It was a different experience—one that Hisoka feared would be addicting.

If Hisoka returned to Happy Island right now, she knew that she would have a hole in her gut. They had grown on her, and to have them ripped away like that would be to define the meaning of heartbreak. So, she had a feeling that she was already addicted to this new life. She couldn't imagine a day without Nami's stubbornness and pride. Hisoka almost respected the way she bossed everyone around and did whatever was necessary to get her way. She admired Zoro's shocking strength, determination, and his unparalleled sleeping schedule. She had never known that someone could have such a skewed concept of time, yet Usopp frequently mentioned to her that it was most likely linked to his absolute lack of direction. Usopp told her a lot of things, mostly because she was the one would was able to listen to him for the longest. His stories were believable in an unbelievable sense of the word. They distracted her from everything else. Then, of course, there was the boy that she held responsible for her new life: Luffy, her captain. His blunt personality was charming at times, and along with his contagious, free, and wild laughter, it made her forget about his subconscious cruelty while she was ill. Luffy did manage to do things that reminded her of those times all too vividly, though, which make her madly irritable. Yet, the rage that consumed her when Luffy would question her temper was unfathomable even to her. Still, he somehow managed to accidentally erase all of her fury with the simplest of actions or words. With power like that, Hisoka deemed him more than worthy to be captain.

With all of these inexplicably strong feelings for all of them, it pained Hisoka to ever question how they felt about her. They were friendly towards her, and they referred to her as their nakama, but Hisoka never really felt like she did anything to deserve their friendships. She felt greedy, wanting them to enjoy her company as much as they enjoyed hers. She wanted to make them happy. She wanted them to feel like their lives wouldn't be the same if she wasn't there, either. For now, though, Hisoka wholeheartedly accepted her position as the seamstress of Luffy's pirate crew. Beautiful clothing made everyone happy, Hisoka believed. Her nakama most certainly weren't shy when it came to making their requests.

Usopp demanded the most intricate captain's uniform in all the sea, one that would strike fear into the hearts of anyone that dared to face him. Nami had loaded her with dozens and dozens of requests. If anything came to mind that she even thought she would desire in the slightest, she asked Hisoka to make it for her. Luffy and Zoro hardly ever asked for anything from Hisoka, though. She would sew up holes in their clothing, and at times make spare clothing for them to wear while theirs were being washed, but that was it. This made Hisoka feel terribly useless, to say the least. Luffy assured her that if anything ever happened to his hat, that he would have her fix it immediately. Zoro would say something about battle wounds. None of it made Hisoka feel any less burdensome, yet she was able to forget her worries the second they got engaged in conversation. Whenever she spent time with them, it was difficult for her to think about much else other than how much she valued the happiness they gave her.

Although, no matter how much they meant to her, part of her heart was still left behind at Happy Island. She would always love that place like no other. Everything that had ever happened on that island was what made Hisoka who she was today. She could never forget that, even if she wanted to. If Hisoka ever forgot about her dreams, or if she was ever pained by memories of the home she had lost, or if she ever felt like crying and giving up, Happy Island gave her something to remember. It gave her something nobody else ever had. It gave her motivation and the will to move forward, to do things she sometimes felt were forced upon her. She wasn't carefree and confident like Luffy. She wasn't stubborn and bossy like Nami. She wasn't strong and determined like Zoro. She sometimes didn't even feel like she had the ability to bring up the false power that Usopp always mustered. So, when she felt like giving up, or turning around, or changing her mind, Happy Island had given her something to remember. She had people there waiting for her. People that were cheering for her. People she cherished. People she needed to protect. People that counted on her. People that were expecting her. So, when Hisoka ever got to the point where she didn't care if she disappointed herself, she remembered that she would be letting them down. And that always pushed her forward, because no matter what, she didn't want to fail them again.

_"Why are you crying? Everybody…. Please, speak to me. Tell me what's wrong!" But none of them did. They just stared at her, never approaching her, never looking away, never responding. Some were frowning, some had tears pouring down their miserable expressions, some were sobbing, others were screaming on their knees. "I want to help you! Please, I don't want you to hurt this much!" They wouldn't accept her help, though. They glanced at her when she spoke, showing her that they heard her. Were they ignoring her? Didn't they trust her? Didn't they need her? _

_ "Please! I can't take this! At least look at me!" They stared at her, but none of them looked directly into her eyes the way they needed to. They were looking at different parts of her face. They were watching her hands and knees shake. They were watching her lips quiver. They were watching her cheeks flush red. They were obviously in too much pain to speak, to act, to ever imagine feeling better. These were the points in time when the only thing they needed to do was look at her. But they just wouldn't. What was so wrong with her that they weren't coming to her? _

_ "I can help you smile again!" She was crying out with all of her heartache, but none of their expressions changed. If anything, the atmosphere became even more desolate. "Don't you understand that!? I can help you feel better! Why won't you accept it!? Please, everybody stop crying!" A nervous breakdown was looming dangerously close to her sanity as she felt something stealing her breath away. It was like the scrawny fingers of her oppressed suffering were taking away her ability to feel content. She needed them to smile, for her sake! She tried to run to them, to grab them and force them to look at her. The second they saw her eyes, they would have forgiven her. She was just trying to help them. Her feet were rooted to the floor, though, and she couldn't move at all._

_ Staring down, she saw Eri gazing up at her. The child clung so tightly to her legs, chaining her to the ground. "E-Eri…. Please, release me! I have to make everyone smile again!" Eri didn't, though. She didn't move an inch. She stared up at her with abandoned, wet eyes and a blank frown. "Don't you want me to help them!?" _

_ "You can help us?" Eri asked. Her voice sliced through Hisoka's lungs, creating screams. _

_ "Of course I can!" _

_ "No you can't." Hisoka wanted to deny her accusation, but she couldn't speak. Her trembling lips were sewn shut. "How could you ever help us with a face like that?" Her eyes widened as she reached up and slapped her hands over her face. Her mouth fell open and she forgot to breathe. Her face was wet. "Why do you want us to look at a crying face?"_

Hisoka's eyes snapped open. She was awake again. She calmly sat up in her bed, rubbing at her eyes as her pupils adjusted to the lack of light. She drew her dry palms away from her face, staring at them in silence. It took her a while, but a soft smile finally fell on her lips and her hard, frightened gaze softened. A subtle sigh left her lips as she slowly removed the blanket from her body, moving to sit on the side of her bed. She flinched when her feet made one of the floor boards creak. She bit down on her lip, her eyes darting around the room, freezing on Nami's shifting figure. She calmed when it appeared that Nami had merely stirred. Hisoka reached up, running her hands over her messy braids.

Hisoka's tired eyes drooped and she yawned. She felt her bed rocking ever so gently along with the rest of the Going Merry. She listened to Nami's rhythmic breathing and the soothing sounds of the oceans that surrounded them. Certainly she remembered her mother telling her how wonderful it was to fall asleep to the sounds of waves, but Hisoka had only had time to associate negative feelings with the unpredictable sea. It was what she gazed at when she was ill enough to be praying for death. It was always the first thing she heard when she awoke in the midst of every night. Holding her pillow in her lap, Hisoka sighed again. She never before thought she would wish so strongly for the morning to come with such urgency. But, that was what she wished for each and every night as she sat on her bed and forced herself to be silent.

During the day, she had her nakama surrounding her, distracting her, making her smile and laugh, helping her forget. She never had much time to fret when the sun was in the sky and they were joking around. The smile on her face grew as she held back her soft laughter, forcing herself to remain as still as the night. When the sun was replaced with moon, though, it was always so quiet. She could fall asleep easy enough, but she was left alone to dream and worry about all the things she had left behind. Everything she avoided so easily under the hot sun surrounded her the same way the ocean did their ship every night. It stole her from her slumber—made her fear the nightmares to the point where she didn't want to rest her head on the pillow and close her eyes again.

Hisoka turned her head around until she could make out the letter she had framed above her desk. That promise from Mama Suki always made her feel like she was cared for and needed. It always lifted her spirits. She had grown to cherish it more than anything. Hisoka sometimes wondered if that was the brilliant scientist's intentions. Turning and staring back down at her pillow, Hisoka hugged the comforting fluff to her chest. What would she do tonight? Hisoka generally worked on her clothing or read a book until the others awoke. When another yawn stretched her lips apart, Hisoka realized she was much too tired to do anything that required concentration. She wished there was a way to fall asleep and not have dreams or nightmares. She wished there was a medicine—possibly a potion, or a serum, or maybe even a pill. She never liked taking medicine. It always tasted horrible, no matter how her mother served it to her. She could still recall the way she would flinch away when she reached for the medicine cabinet. There were even a few times where she had run away from her home to avoid taking it, but it never worked. She frequently threatened to run away whenever she was upset with her parents. She'd go to the ocean and become a mermaid and never come back home, she'd warn. She always wanted to wear a real pearl necklace and seashell earrings.

Hisoka quickly inhaled, jerking her head up when she felt her forehead hit the pillow. Trying to relax her alarmed heart, she reached up and wiped her bangs out of her eyes. She had almost fallen asleep again. Shaking her head back and forth to try and force away the feelings of fatigue, Hisoka threw the pillow back to the head of her mattress. She stood to her feet slowly, stretching out her body to get the blood flowing again. All of her attempts proved to be futile, though. After all her stretching and shaking and mental commands to stay awake, Hisoka still felt exhausted. She gazed blankly at Nami's form, absentmindedly licking her lips. She looked away as her head began to feel as heavy as her eyelids. Maybe she should try to convince Nami to let her always be the nighttime lookout. Nami was stubborn, though. She never wanted Hisoka to be burdened with anything that would interrupt the quick completion of her requests. Besides, what if it was storming one night? Hisoka would never want subject herself to remaining outside during that.

Though, suddenly something entered Hisoka's ears that managed to perk up even her dead brain. She was still for several moments before her eyes widened slightly. A very weak, weary smile lifted her cheeks as she began to clumsily stumble towards the stairs, grabbing her pillow along the way. Just as she put her hand on the hatch, though, Nami yawned out, forcing Hisoka to stop.

"W-What are you doing, Hisoka?" Nami grumbled, half-asleep.

"Going outside," she responded in a similar manner.

"Why?" Nami muttered, rolling around in her bed and adjusting the blankets to cover her legs again. "You gotta…sleep…more."

Hisoka stared at Nami with a deadpan expression before yawning again. "No reason," she mumbled in a whisper. "Just go back to sleep…."

"Nnn," Nami breathed, plopping her head back down on the pillow. "'Kay. Dun blame me if 'sopp keeps ya up, hmm…"

Hisoka didn't respond. She just blinked her eyes a few times to keep them open before finally mustering up enough strength to push open the hatch and climb into the storage room. Tripping over her own feet several times, it took the tired girl a while to finally open the door that exposed herself to the deck. The rush of wind blew some of her hair into her face and gave her body enough of a chill to make her more alert. She closed the door behind her as gently as she could, yawning again and pressing her pillow closer to her chest, kneading the feathers with her fingers through the soft fabric.

"Oi, Hisoka! Did you wake up because you wanted meat, too?" Even though Hisoka's mind was running at a very, very slow pace and she was slipping in and out of a dream-like daze, that voice rang through her head like thousands of bells. She froze for a second, hesitant of how to respond. She slowly turned around, gazing with half-lidded eyes through the dark, moon-lit air. She held her breath before slowly releasing a loud, long sigh, which urged her to yawn once again. If her pillow wasn't in the way, Hisoka had a feeling she would have been clutching at her chest.

Luffy gazed back at her with a wide-awake aura surrounding him and curiosity hopping around in his bright, alive eyes. She looked different than she normally did during the day. He observed the way her hair, which was normally always curly, was tucked away in two sloppy braids, one hanging over each shoulder. Instead of the light green, slightly frilly dress she wore most of the time, she was dressed in a bland white dress that came down to her ankles. He looked back at her face, one of his eyebrows cocking slightly. She was the only person he knew that actually changed her clothes during the nighttime. She looked very different to him. There was one thing that was the same, though. That was the way the corners of her mouth were curled upwards gently. Her lips parted, and she quickly covered her mouth to capture her yawn.

"Luffy, Usopp," Hisoka greeted in the liveliest voice she could manage. She stumbled towards them, dropping her pillow on the floor next to her two crewmates.

"Oh, Hisoka. Why are you up?" Usopp inquired in a quiet voice. Through drooping eyes, the sleepy girl looked up at him after she took a seat on the floor. Usopp was standing, leaning against the edge of the boat, looking out at the sea every now and again like he was supposed to. He was on watch duty, after all. Luffy sat next to Usopp's legs, across from her. It was Usopp's voice that had drawn her out here, though. She hadn't been expecting to see her captain. She most certainly didn't expect to see him looking as energetic as he always was, especially now, in the middle of the night. Her smile widened almost unnoticeably.

"Hmmm," she mumbled in a slightly pleased tone. Usopp's question got lost in her dreary mind. Without any warning, she collapsed onto the pillow, rolling onto her side and closing her eyes, curling up slightly.

"Hey, this isn't a bed, Hisoka."

"Yeah, you may catch a cold if you sleep out here."

"Do you think she's sleep-walking? She won't answer us."

"She said our names before, though. Remember?"

"Hisokaaaaa! Answer ussss!"

"Stupid! You'll wake up everyone on the ship!"

"So? Then maybe someone will finally catch me something to eat!"

Hisoka sighed happily, rolling over to face the two, catching their attention. She opened her eyes slightly, speaking in a tired voice. "Usopp, can I ask a favor?"

"What?" Usopp asked, leaning down slightly so that he could hear the seamstress better.

"Tell me a story, a long, long story. With a lot of details. …But not scary… and with a happy ending, okay?" Hisoka asked, hiding her face in her pillow as she yawned again. Revealing her face, she blinked her eyes a few times before forcing them to open even wider. "You have to have been on a lot of adventures, surely you have some story that fits that description… Right?"

"Well, of course! I am the greatest captain you will ever find on any ocean, after all! I have millions—no, _billions!_—of adventures that I have bravely faced and pursued with the utmost excitement and confidence!"

"Hisoka, you wanna hear one of Usopp's stories?" Luffy asked, leaning closer to the face of the sleeping girl just as Usopp had done.

"M'hmmm," she muttered, nodding slowly. "You listen, too, it'll be good." Luffy stared at her for a little while after she closed her eyes. She never talked to them like this before. It was like she was completely comfortable around them. She must have been really, really tired.

"Why do you want to listen to a bunch of lies? That's odd."

"Hey, shut up! These are stories of my amazing adventures! Let me talk!"

"What adventures?" Luffy snickered playfully.

The potential argument was cut off my Hisoka's mild voice once again. "It'll help me sleep. So, tell the story, Usopp… I'm… listening… Like, 'Once upon a time'… best beginning… ever." Hisoka yawned again, reached up to rub at her eyes, managing to brighten her drowsy smile even further. "I'm listening." Usopp acted as though he was the greatest man and Hisoka was bowing at his feet as he began his story. After a while, Luffy had finally stopped complaining to nobody about how much he wanted food and had lied down and given in, listening to Usopp's story, as well. A while after an hour had passed, Usopp was knocked out, muttering in his sleep about his long, dramatic battle with a seahorse that collected islands for currency and had eyes menacing enough to scare away even the toughest of Usopp's imaginary crewmembers. Hisoka was curled up in a tight ball, having fallen asleep five minutes into the story, twitching frequently in her sleep enough to convince Usopp that she was still awake. Luffy was sprawled out on his back, staring up at the stars above the Going Merry with a tired expression. Drool lingered on the corner of his mouth, both of his hands clutching his stomach.

"Meat… So hungry… Urghh…" Luffy continued his grumbling for a while, throwing himself a pity party.

He didn't expect one, but in midst of her slumber, Hisoka gave him a response. "We'll have food…soon… Nnn, hungry, too… Right?" Her speech faded into a series of incomprehensible mumbles. Twisting his neck, he stared at Hisoka's sleeping face with a more alert expression.

"We need a chef and a musician, too, you know," he said, not really sure whether or not Hisoka would reply again.

Barely moving her lips, she did. "It'd be nice… Breakfast… Music… Lullabies… Yum…." The girl's nose twitched, her hand lethargically moving to brush away the hair that was tickling her cheeks.

"Can you cook or sing, Hisoka? Or do you know anybody that can?" Luffy inquired in a softer, more distant voice as the waves of the late hours washed over his mind and his words.

"Nah," she whispered. The girl moved her neck, opening her eyes ever so slightly and staring at him with a soft, dizzy look. "I've never been good in the kitchen, and I'm a pretty average singer… Don't really do it much…" Luffy watched Hisoka's eyes flutter for a while before she was vaguely staring at him again. "That's why… I always thought… I'd need to hire a chef… If my husband…you know, couldn't cook… My children need home-cooked… meals… It'd make 'em… happy… giggly… You… know?" Hisoka's eyes shut gently and her breathing became rhythmic again. She didn't say another word. Luffy gazed at her bleakly for a few moments before looking back up at the sky and falling into a dead sleep a few minutes later.

Something interested him in the seamstress, though. She made him feel that he was right about his theory that her muscles were programmed to naturally rest with the corners of her lips turned up. Because she smiled when she slept, too.


	10. Facts

Running her tongue absentmindedly over her teeth, the repetitive movements of Hisoka's hands ceased for just a moment as she flipped to the next page in her book. She pushed some of her hair over her shoulder before glancing down at the fabric in her lap. She readjusted the position of her needle before smiling gently and resuming her multitasking. Her eyes were carefully scanning the pages with few illustrations, thoughtfully taking in each sentence and thinking it over. At the same time, her fingers and wrists twitched expertly over the soft, white fabric that she was embroidering. She bit down on her lip, her eyes pausing and rereading a paragraph several times. She reached up, flipping quickly back to the previous chapter, leaning closer to the page as though that would help her come to a decision.

Alone in the women's chambers, the sounds of the waves crashing against the sides of the boat and the antics of her crewmates above her accompanied her steady breathing. Hisoka shook her head, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling as her hands automatically resumed their recurring, swift activities. Sighing in contemplation, she looked down at her lap once again. The tiny twinges of frustration that were ailing her mind vanished, her antagonized gaze softening upon the multicolored flowers she was creating with her needle and thread. Her smile broke into a grin quickly and she happily returned to her book, suddenly having nothing to fret about.

Hisoka practically leaped out of her seat, emitting a soft, surprised cry when a rumbling sound shook the entire boat and placed a sudden crack in tranquil atmosphere she had been enjoying for the majority of the morning. She sat, her composure tousled as she stared at the stairs with wide eyes. Before she could complete the thought that was running through her frazzled mind, the sound returned. She shrieked again, still caught off guard. Hearing something explode far off, her breathing picked up slightly. Just as part of her mind was beginning to think of the worst possible cause of the noise, Nami opened the hatch and climbed down the stairs casually, giving Hisoka her normal greeting smile. When Hisoka didn't give her a prompt response, Nami raised a questioning eyebrow upon reaching the bottom of the stairs.

"What's going on out there?" Hisoka asked as calmly as she could. She wasn't sure if she wanted Nami to give her a response or not.

"Oh, you're worried about that?" Nami asked in a slightly teasing tone, her concerned expression relaxing. Hisoka nodded, quickly feeding off of Nami's nonchalant vibe and relaxing her tense muscles. Her stay on the Going Merry had so far resembled a carefree cruise. It was far, far from the hard life of a pirate that she had been fearfully imagining. She most certainly didn't want that to change anytime soon, but part of her mind was taut with anticipation of a sudden invasion of their ship or other aggressive confrontation. "It's just Luffy and Usopp playing with the cannons, nothing to get so worked up about."

Yet, Hisoka did not calm immediately. Cannons didn't seem like something that should be played around with so freely. "Just let it be, Hisoka," Nami advised with a soft string of laughter. Hisoka tried her best to listen to her, biting down on her cheek and trying to consume herself in her activities once again. Adjusting from her life on Happy Island to her life as the seamstress of a pirate crew wasn't just about the weather and environment. She still had much she had to train herself to tolerate. Nobody else seemed to have a problem with half of the things that got under her skin so easily.

"What are you reading now?" Nami asked curiously, walking towards her desk.

Hisoka sighed, releasing her hold on her cheek as she attempted to push the shock from her mind. Engrossing herself further in the pages and quickly speeding up her hands, she responded without looking at her company. "Trying to decide which formula is best."

"You're interested in science?" Nami questioned, her interest piqued. The entire crew was still getting to know one another, but this was just unexpected.

Hisoka laughed softly, looking over her shoulder at her friend. "No, I mean baby formulas. For their milk? There are many different options." Hisoka turned back towards her book once Nami nodded. Her voice became slightly more distant. "I think I would want to make one from scratch, though. I don't want to depend on someone else. I'll be able to supply ample amounts of everything my children need all by myself."

She heard Nami mutter something under her breath and move several things around on her desk before walking towards Hisoka. "And I suppose that while you are reading that you are also working on making me that dress?" Hisoka froze slightly, biting down on her lip before letting out a short series of nervous laughter. Nami walked around to Hisoka's side, leaning down until she was eye-level with the seated seamstress, who was staring at the fabric in her lap. "Huh?" Nami prodded with a determined expression.

Hisoka took a glance at her friend, giving her a guilty smile that made Nami sigh and rub her forehead, standing up straight. "I just finished making everyone their winter outfits," Hisoka reasoned, tightening her grip on her needle.

Nami gave Hisoka an exasperated look before shifting her weight and placing her free hand on her hip, her other holding several objects she had received from her desk. "That we _didn't ask for_," she argued, her lips pursing to the side.

"The colder seasons will be coming sooner or later, though," Hisoka said calmly. "I know you may be thinking that it's all so hot and warm now, but it won't be that way forever." She was happy to have years of keeping an unfazed expression on her face to help her in situations like these. "I'm not sure how dramatic the winter will be on the ocean, either." Happy Island was a place where it was generally warm all year round. It was rare to see snowfall, and in the winter many were able to get by with light jackets and thicker pants. Hisoka had no idea what to expect, and she was going to make sure that she was prepared for whatever came her way. She bravely met Nami's gaze with a sincere smile, and after a few moments of a silent challenge, Nami rolled her eyes and slumped her shoulders slightly.

"Whatever keeps you happy, Hisoka," she grumbled inaudibly. Before the seamstress could pry into what Nami was talking about, the navigator ran her fingers through her hair and asked with suspicion, "What _are_ you working on, then?"

Hisoka's smile widened into an excited grin, not realizing how her lack of guilt for not pressing out Nami's requests as fast as a machine would was getting to the navigator so much. Happily oblivious, she held up the work of her labor after snipping the short supply of thread with her teeth and setting the needle aside to be rethreaded later. Nami examined the slightly transparent white fabric that was cut into a square that she assumed would be big enough to cover one's lap. In the left corner the intricate design of leaves and light green, sky blue, and bright yellow flowers began, stretching out into elaborate vines that looked as though they would at one point frame the entire perimeter.

"A handkerchief?" Nami questioned, vaguely remembering an older woman shouting something about one during Hisoka's departure.

Hisoka's smile brightened as she nodded energetically, staring at the fabric with wide, sparkling eyes. "Of sorts," she said. She held it out, nodding encouragingly. "Feel it." Nami petted the fabric gently, her expression morphing into one of soft surprise. She continued to stroke it gently before giving Hisoka a smile.

"It's really soft."

"M'hmm!" she declared before withdrawing the fabric and placing it back in her lap. "A baby spits up quite often, or it just makes a big mess while eating. I can wipe their faces with this until I can get them to a bath. I think I'll make a matching bib, and maybe even a tablecloth and napkins! Place setting would be nice, too… And towels! Maybe even a little apron. Oh, it would just look so cute together, don't you think?"

"Not as cute as my dress," Nami countered. Yet, Hisoka was too lost in her own dream world to respond. Nami had been slightly put off by her roommate's obsession with children at first. Hisoka was always making baby clothes or reading her baby books. She was planning every single detail out and coming up with a solution for every problem that stumbled across her mind. A while after bonding with the navigator, Hisoka even proved that, if given the chance, she would fantasize aloud for ridiculous periods of time. All the while she would be sewing or flipping through a book, as well. Her ability to multitask was one that Nami appreciated. There were several times when Nami caught herself staring at Hisoka's stomach, wondering if she truly was pregnant. She had never seen such enthusiasm about children before. Hisoka was acting like these children she was going to have to care for were right around the corner—like she was running out of time.

Nami leaned back, gazing thoughtfully at the excited expression playing on Hisoka's face. This most definitely wasn't the type of girl everyone expected the Devil Pleasure Goddess to be. Nami had personally imagined a much more provocative, trashy girl that would have surrounded herself with all the great men she had "defeated". She almost found herself admiring the girl's power at times. Yet, here she was, sitting in Nami's room, fawning over children's books and baby clothes and dreams of a perfect family. Hisoka didn't even seem to get off on the idea of having children because of the fact it would be the result of having an intimate relationship with a man, she just got off on the idea of having children, period. From what Nami had gathered, it seemed as though the only role a man played in Hisoka's dream was someone that would complete her ideal family. She was sure he was right alongside the house pets and a white picket fence.

Certainly she was far, far from what everyone expected her to be. She valued happiness more than anything, which could be considered to be somewhere in the fine print of the description of the Devil Pleasure Goddess that was wandering around, but that was all. If Hisoka's power wasn't one-of-a-kind, Nami never would have been able to convince herself that their seamstress and the rumored Devil Pleasure Goddess were the same person. Hisoka did not value sexual or physical pleasure, she valued emotional and mental pleasure. That was why Nami had eventually just brushed all of Hisoka's odd hobbies off as something that made the girl happy, though, and came to accept it all.

"Nami? Where are you going?" Hisoka asked, looking away from the needle she was rethreading when she heard her friend walking away. The orange-haired woman looked over her shoulder, meeting the girl's inquiring expression with silence for a few moments.

"I think I am going to go work on a map in the helm. You can come, if you want." Hisoka had been spending a lot of time in her room lately. She seemed to be most comfortable multitasking in silence. Whenever she did join the rest of the crew, she mostly stuck to doing one thing at a time.

With an amiable smile, Hisoka shook her head. "No, thank you. I may join you in a little while, though."

Nami nodded, continuing on her way up the stairs. "You better be working on my dress soon," she ordered. Hisoka sometimes had trouble figuring out whether or not the navigator was serious or just being playful.

Hisoka glanced at her almost-finished handkerchief out of the corner of her eyes before smiling and nodding, although Nami couldn't see her. "I promise. Thanks." Nami let out a muttering sound as a response before vanishing into the storage room, closing the hatch behind her. Hisoka listened to the female walk through the storage room and exit before she refocused on her work. She had successfully forgotten all about the terrible dread that had filled her a while earlier. Yet, it seemed as though the world wasn't done interrupting her just yet. For once she got so immersed in her book and her body was back in an autopilot mode, another abrupt sound echoed through the room and had her squealing again. "Ow," she mumbled, lifting her pricked finger into her mouth and sucking on it. That trepidation she thought she had lost returned all too quickly when she realized that that was a different sound than the cannons. It was a violent, crashing, breaking sound. A voice she didn't recognize was screaming and shouting viciously. And she was completely alone.

Her normal reaction occurred. Her heartbeat sped up, she shot to her feet, her knees began to tremble. Fretful tears threatened to fill her eyes and her hands began to sweat. What if someone was hurt? This could be serious, and for some reason, Hisoka didn't feel like she was ready for it. Her lips trembled slightly as she stared at the fabric that had fallen to the floor. Her hand left her mouth, a red fingertip shivering along with the rest of her body. Her ears were open, her mind noisily panicking. She wanted Nami to open the hatch and walk down the stairs and laugh at her for overreacting, but she had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. Her eyes darted slowly around the room. There was no place for her to put her contacts. She couldn't risk them getting damaged.

Her eyebrow twitched, feeling something overcoming her. She _had_ to go out there and see what was going on. She took a few slow, timid steps towards the stairs, her thoughts running amuck, all of her senses fighting against one another. Questions were suddenly running through the front of her mind. What if she had to fight? What if she got hurt? What if they had weapons? What if there was more than one? And her body most certainly didn't give her common sense the reaction it was looking for. She was quickly battling to manage and rid herself of the giddy excitement that fogged her being. Trying her best to keep from grinning and laughing, Hisoka found her body unwillingly running up the stairs and flinging open the hatch. Her face was a battlefield, her expression twitching from excitement to fear. Her heart was throbbing with thrill and her gut was knotting with worry. When she pulled open the door of the storage room, exposing herself to something she equally wanted to join in on and flee frantically from, her body froze under the rush of sea air that tangled her hair.

Her eyes glued themselves to the furious man who was swinging around a sword menacingly. He caught her eyes and her hands tightened into fists, her pulse skipping erratically. The color drained from her smiling face and with a sudden gasp she resumed her breathing, feeling all of her joints tremble. No matter how she wanted to react, her entire body was restricted by unknown forces. The man shouted something at her, but Hisoka was unable to comprehend his speech. He took a step towards her, he drew back his sword. Hisoka's smile quivered.

_ "Emotionally distraught people say cruel things, Leeko-kun. You and everyone else on this island should know that. But everyone deserves a chance at happiness."_

_ "I won't let our happiness be interrupted, I promise!"_

The man paused in his rage, his glare on the woman before him changing slightly. Her being seemed to suddenly perk from its stoic demeanor. Hisoka's body regained the ability to move, the look in her eyes softening, her smile growing concerned. She tilted her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowing gently as she leaned towards him in a peaceful way. "Why are you unhappy?" she asked. The man tensed, tightening his grip on the sword. "I can help you," she spoke in a soft, kind way, as though he was fragile.

"Shut up!" he roared. The heart which Hisoka had ever so slightly opened to the man halted in her chest when he swung his blade towards her. A soft cry shredded through the air as quickly as his sword did when she backed up slightly into the storage room, gripping onto the door. She felt the wind that flew from the blade smack her cheeks. She fought the urge to flinch away and the desire to grin manically at him.

_"There are so many people out there like those men."_

"Do you really wish to hurt us, to fight?" she whispered, her voice suddenly unsteady.

The man was wearing sunglasses, but she was sure his eyes were lighting up. "Don't talk to me like that, you _pirate!_" He swiftly kicked towards Hisoka, and she ungracefully took several more steps backwards into the storage room. Her odd movements threatened to send her to the floor. "I'm going to kill your entire crew!" Walking back to the deck, he began to shout. "Where the hell are you, pirates!? Come out! Don't make me just face this little girl, you cowards!"

"What, what? Who are you? Why are you here playing with Hisoka?" Hearing that naively curious voice, Hisoka dashed out of the storage room, clinging to the door frame and looking up at the balcony above. When she spotted Luffy, she finally exhaled and looked back towards their company. "Hisoka, do you know him?" Luffy asked, looking down at their seamstress with questioning eyes. Hisoka parted her lips to give him a response, but the man was suddenly yelling once again.

"Shut up! It doesn't matter who I am!" He held his sword out in front of him, assuming a stance Hisoka didn't understand. The ominous scowl on his face widened, causing the tattoo on his cheek to deform. "And I'm not playing!" Hisoka let out a brief cry of alarm when the man jumped and slammed his sword at Luffy. Although Luffy jumped out of the way, part of the ship was crushed beneath the force of his weapon. "I've killed a countless number of pirates!" Sweat was dripping down his face as he once again lifted his sword. "And a lowlife pirate like you tries to kill my partner!?" He swung the sword with stunning speed, yet Luffy jumped away again, holding his hat tightly to his head. Hisoka's breathing became labored and shallow as she reached up to cover her gaping jaw. Her glistening hazel eyes watched in astonishment as the sword sliced easy through the deck, sending splinters flying all around.

"What do you mean, 'partner'?" Luffy inquired. "I don't know what's going on, and I don't care if you're Hisoka's friend." His face twisted into a look of vexation. Hisoka forgot to fill her lungs, her entire body going stiff when Luffy suddenly reached out and grabbed onto the muscular man. "But don't damage our ship!" Hisoka followed the scene with unblinking eyes as the man was suddenly crashing into the ship's railing, Luffy having thrown him backwards with tremendous force. He slid down to the floor, hitting his head in the process, his jaw hanging open, his breath knocked away from him. Luffy gazed at him from his bent-backwards pose with slightly annoyed curiosity when the man managed to force out incomprehensible speech.

"What was that?" the captain whined. He straightened, crossing his arms and glancing at Hisoka. "Do all your friends have problems with muffling their mouth before they speak like you do, Hisoka?" The seamstress didn't give him any response. She didn't even give him an acknowledging glance. She didn't move an inch. Her wide eyes were glued to the man who lied gasping on the floor. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest.

"Hey. Aren't you Johnny?"

"Who said that? Daring to call out my name so carelessly." Hisoka flinched when the man suddenly sat straight up, his eyes widening, the life returning to his face. "Zoro-aniki!"

"What, what? Hisoka, he's your friend, what's he—Hisoka?" Yet, the seamstress was gone and the storage room door was closed tightly. Luffy huffed. He was so confused.

Hisoka pressed her back tighter against the storage door, squeezing her eyes shut tightly before snapping them open. She slid down to the floor, her teeth grinding together. Feebly, her hands fell from her mouth, and she released a ridiculously wide grin. Its strength forced her eyes closed, and she allowed her head to loll back, bumping against the wooden door. Her breathing picked up, her knees trembled, her pulse sped. Soft squeals could be heard pouncing around behind her clenched teeth. When her grin finally calmed enough for her eyes to open, they were bright and swimming in ecstasy. She should have screamed at Luffy. She should have held him back. She should have objected the violence and tried to solve everything peacefully.

Her trembling lips could no longer hold back the words that she couldn't believe she was thinking. "A-Amazing…" With that one word, Hisoka let herself go, her grin doubling in size. Her vocal cords sung in amazement as she began to quake with a joy she had never before known. "Amazing. So, so… cool! So, so, so _awesome!_" Her giddy giggles filled the air around her, her fists pounding into the air. The aftershocks of the thrilling adrenaline rippled though her nerves, empowering her girlish shrieks. It was wrong, but Hisoka was yearning for everything she stood against. She wanted Luffy and the man to fight before her eyes, to feed this insane feeling blooming in her heart. The fact that Hisoka felt so addicted to these feelings she experienced wasn't what was shocked her the most. It was the fact that she had found such glee, such enjoyment, in drowning in this sea of exhilarating emotional fireworks that she didn't care that she thought it was wrong. She didn't care that she was letting herself go. She couldn't even remember feeling bad about it. She was just in _love_.

And so Hisoka sat there, trembling and grinning and trying to muffle her electrifying shrieks as her heart rattled in her chest. She felt strangely… whole. She listened for a while, hearing all of her friends chat normally amongst themselves. No fighting. She slowly crept into her chambers, securing the hatch behind her and crawling into her bed. Her teeth were still chattering, but she felt warmer than ever before. Her animated eyes were glued to the air in front of her. Her grin had finally settled into a wide smile. The second she closed her eyes, she remembered the scene, and burst into another fit of crazed, amazed squeals that had her tossing in her bed.

"Oi, Luffy! Luffy, wait! _Wait!_" Hearing Nami's screeches, Hisoka momentarily forgot about her obsession and sat up in her bed, staring at the hatch with uncertainty. She jumped slightly when the hatch was practically torn open and her captain ran in so quickly that he almost fell down the stairs. The sight knocked her excitement right out of her head. He was hysterically panicking, his eyes wide with frantic worry, dramatic tears in his eyes.

"L-Luffy…?" Hisoka managed to mumble before the hyper pirate was by her side, grabbing her arm roughly. "Luffy!" she repeated in a slightly rougher tone.

"Hisoka! Come on! You gotta fix this!" Luffy snapped. Before she could retort, Luffy harshly pulled her out of the bed and dragged her up the stairs with amazing speed. The seamstress grimaced, feeling her bare legs banging up against the steps that she didn't catch in the rush. "I'm coming, I'm coming! I got this, I got this!" Luffy's speech sounded as though it was one stream of made up chants. Hisoka suddenly found herself freed from his grasp and surrounded by her crew, along with the man that was attacking them earlier. Seeing the tears quickly pouring down his face, she forgot about the pain running through her calves and stared at him with compassionate concern.

Luffy, seemingly very confident of himself, pointed at Hisoka and said sternly, "Solution."

"I get it! Oh, perfect! Good idea, Luffy! Good idea!" Usopp fawned, nodding his head and clapping.

"Luffy! You idiot! Hisoka isn't a doctor!" Nami roared, her eyes afire as she reached out and hit Luffy over the head. "You just interrupted her sewing for _nothing!_"

"But she can fix this!" Luffy whined, cradling his head as he gave her a blameful gaze.

Ignoring the antics of her crew, Hisoka took a quick step before their sobbing enemy. "What's wrong?" she asked him. "Why are you crying? Do you need my help?"

"What can you do?" he asked frankly through his sobs and sniffles. Before Hisoka could give him a consoling response, she was suddenly back in Luffy's grasp. He yanked her over to a bed, and Hisoka's smile faltered as she gasped, staring down at an extremely sickly man. If his chest wasn't rising and falling with his forced, irregular breathing, she would have had trouble distinguishing him from a corpse.

"Not him, _him!_" Luffy demanded. He let go of her arm for a moment before placing a hand on the back of her head and pushing her face down until her nose almost touched the ill person. At a loss for words, Hisoka remained still and silent, her eyes wide as she breathed in the scent of limes. "So? Work, Hisoka!" Luffy demanded. "What's taking so looonnng? Look at him! She'll fix this, really, she can!" His pressure was removed when Nami dragged him off of her, barking furiously at him. Hisoka leaned backwards, placing her hands on the man's cheeks.

"S-Sir," she muttered. "What's the matter? Can you hear my voice?" The groaning man seemed to lose even more of the color in his face when he tried to respond. She felt a familiar pang echo across her heart strings. She heard a loud sigh and looked over, blinking several times to help her eyes focus. Arching her neck to look into the cup that Luffy was holding out to her, she watched the rippling water before gazing up slowly at Luffy's determined expression.

Before she could voice her question, he stated, "Nami said you have to take out your contacts first and you need water to put them in."

After a moment of confused silence, Hisoka muttered, "T-That's true…." Luffy nodded, pressing the glass closer to her. The man on the bed groaned again, and Hisoka bit her lip, looking back to him.

"You have to help him, Hisoka. Otherwise we won't feel better about what we did," Usopp pleaded. "I—I mean, uh, you're the only one that can! Hahah! He needs you! …You can do it, right? You just gotta!"

Nami sighed, growing more and more exasperated by the second. "Hisoka," she called. Hisoka gave her roommate a hopeful stare as she continued on. "Yosaku has scurvy. He'll get better, but he's in a lot of pain and he can't rest peacefully because he's so mentally distraught. We can hear him groaning and moaning all the way in the helm! These _morons _blew up the place where he was resting and now, well…. It would be helpful, Hisoka."

"Of course!" Hisoka said automatically, nodding quickly. She reached up, removing her contacts and placing them into the water that Luffy provided. She thanked him softly, keeping her head bowed.

"See? You found the fix to all of your problems here!" Luffy said, grinning at the crying man. "So just forget about that cannon ball thing, okay?" Nami snatched the cup from Luffy's grasp, holding it closely to her chest.

"What is she doing, Zoro-aniki?" the man begged, turning to gaze at the swordsman. "I don't want her to touch my partner!"

"Eh? She's Hisoka."

"Who's Hisoka?"

"_She's _Hisoka, Johnny."

"You probably know her as the Devil Pleasure Goddess."

"T-The Devil Pleasure Goddess!? But she never leaves Happy Island! Isn't she just a fairytale?"

"Nope! Hisoka's our nakama!"

"And she's gonna… To Yosaku… Wait, she can't! Hey, girl, Hisoka, Devil Pleasure Goddess, girl, stop! Don't make aniki one of your disciples!"

"Johnny! Calm down! Just sit here and watch."

"But she'll—"

"Y-Yeah…." All of the crew grew silent at the sound of the raspy whisper. They averted their gazes to their seamstress and Yosaku. Hisoka sat on the edge of the bed, caressing one of his cheeks and gazing into his eyes. He stared right back at her, a smile on his face, his entire body relaxed.

"P-Partner…"

Hisoka laughed softly when Yosaku heard the call of his close friend. "Yes, you hear that?" she said softly. She used the same voice she had been using to coax him from his panicked slumber and to ease him into a calmer state of mind while the others were arguing. "That man is your friend, right? He's here and safe, too. You don't need to worry one bit, you see? You're safe and fine now. There's nothing to worry about. You will feel all better really soon, all of this pain will go away. That's all you need to think about, I promise. Just keep looking into my eyes, that's it, that's it." Everyone watched in complete silence.

"W-Who…?"

"My name is Hisoka," she responded in a heart-warming voice. "Please, don't strain yourself to speak. We can talk all you want in the morning. If you wish, you can even look into my eyes again." Yosaku's eyelids slowly began to droop, his pale complexion flushing slightly. His breathing was rhythmic and steady. His pulse had calmed. "You must be tired after your long, long journey. Would you like to sleep and look forward to how much better you will feel in the morning?"

"That'd… be… okay…."

"Then just sleep. It's okay. Your pain will be gone really soon. Just focus on my eyes, focus on how happy you feel. Think sweet thoughts and dream peacefully, now." Within a second, the man was snoring away. Hisoka slowly placed his head back on the pillow and readjusted his blanket before standing to her feet. Her eyes stayed on the man's sleeping face.

"Awesome!" Luffy cried out. "She's our nakama! My nakama's so cool!"

"Idiot! You'll wake him up! Be quiet!"

"Is that really…?" Johnny rushed to the bedside, gazing at his partner before breaking into a grin. "He looks like he's resting so peacefully!"

"You were crying earlier." When Johnny turned around to see Hisoka, she hid her eyes in the shadows of her bangs. "Are you unhappy?"

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Johnny exclaimed, suddenly sobbing into the skirt of Hisoka's dress. "You're the best! Thank you so much!" Never revealing her eyes, Hisoka laughed and nodded, taking great pleasure in hearing his words.

A while later, Nami returned to the meeting room. Usopp looked up, asking, "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Nami said. "Once I walked her back to our room, she put her contacts in and started working on my dress. _Finally._ …I don't think you should worry about Hisoka. She'll be fine." Nami plopped back into her seat, looking over her map idly. Usopp hesitated for a moment, but nodded anyway. Luffy complained under his breath about how Hisoka probably thought that they were ugly, because whenever she wasn't wearing her contacts she refused to look at them. Usopp scolded and joked with the captain at the same time.

"Was that really the Devil Pleasure Goddess?" Johnny asked, expressing extreme interest.

"You keep asking that. Her name's Hisoka, too. She won't respond if you call her that. I tried," Luffy replied, stuffing some bread into his face. "If you do it often enough, she just walks away, but at first it's like she doesn't even hear you."

"I just can't believe she joined a pirate crew…. People will be coming here to find her once word gets out. I can't imagine how big her bounty will be. If the Marines don't give her one, certainly any pirate would."

"They would be putting a price on a girl that doesn't exist," Nami said with a careless glance.

"I don't understand," Luffy said.

"Hisoka's still Hisoka. And she's right in her room," Usopp added.

"But did Hisoka match the description we came following?" Zoro asked indifferently.

"Oh," Luffy and Usopp mumbled.

"You did it too, Johnny," Nami said, turning to face their guest. "You were probably expecting Yosaku's personality to change rapidly, right? I'm sure you thought he would worship her or become addicted or whatever the stories say." Johnny nodded slowly.

"But that's not what happened," he said cautiously, thinking back on the sound of his partner's voice and the smile on his face as he slept.

"Did she even look like what you expected her to look like?" Nami inquired. Johnny quickly shook his head. "The reason she joined our crew in the first place was because she wanted to protect her island from any pirates that would come looking for her. She's a lot, lot different than what the rumors say. It's almost odd."

"Can she even do any of the stuff they say she can?"

"Yeah, we saw it."

"But she wasn't keeping any prisoners." Johnny tilted his head, gazing at the expressions on the pirates' faces individually. He paused on Zoro's before staring at the ceiling.

"As long as she can do it, it doesn't matter what she acts or looks like. People will still want her. Nobody will expect _her_, though! She's got some element of surprise." Zoro and Nami nodded in agreement. Luffy looked on, mainly focusing on downing his twentieth meal of the day. Usopp was slowly getting lost in his thoughts. They had a strange girl for a nakama.

Tucked away under her covers, Hisoka stared at the cup of water on her desk forlornly. She slowly closed her veiled hazel pupils, urging on slumber to the best of her ability. Feeling the plastic twirl slightly beneath her lids, she remembered how much her contacts had aggravated her when she first received them. Pushing away her memories, she prayed she would dream of happiness and other wonderful things, but her prayers weren't always answered.

_"I want you to look at me every single day forever and ever, okay, Hisoka-chan? Any time of day or night! What, what, what's with that face? You showed me that nice feeling, you shouldn't take it away! That'd be just so rude. You know?" _


	11. Rumors

Sitting up in her bed, her eyes drooping as she stared blankly at her desk, Hisoka slowly yawned. Still half asleep, she wasn't sure whether or not the rumbling up above was her crew or a tidal wave. She assumed her reaction would be the same either way—slow, indolent, tired, faux Zen. She rubbed sluggishly at her eyes, groaning softly when her efforts proved futile. Using more energy than she thought her fatigued body held, she examined the room around her. When she realized that she was alone, Hisoka allowed her body to collapse back onto the mattress. The pillow cradled her head perfectly, causing every cell in her being to scream for her to close her eyes and resume her slumber. She kept her eyes as wide awake as she could, though, staring at the ceiling, feeling the waves rock the room rhythmically. She felt her breathing and her heartbeat sync with the pace. Just as she became unable to keep her eyelashes from brushing against her cheeks and her muscles from relaxing into the posture of slumber, the sound of someone loudly storming down the stairs gave her a sudden, unwelcome start.

Her eyes snapped open and she shot up in bed slightly, panting in order to supply her racing heart with enough oxygen. Her eyes drooped again and she sunk down slightly, her pants interrupted by dramatic sighs when she realized the cause of her alarm.

"Oh, you're awake already. That's great." Nami's cheery voice seemed to match her obnoxious grin perfectly. She sauntered to Hisoka's bedside. Trying her best to be civil and friendly, the exhausted and frazzled girl gave herself an unnoticeable shake as she tried to brighten her eyes and her smile. "Or should I say that you're _finally_ awake." Finding motivation in the annoyed tone that Nami wasn't hiding very well, Hisoka managed to find her way into a sitting position as she yawned, trying to get her dreamily distant mind to focus on the chirpy girl beside her.

"Good morning, Nami," Hisoka spoke in a surprisingly attentive voice. Nami's grin dropped, her brow furrowing angrily as she stood up straight.

"It's almost noon, Hisoka," she said in an accusatory manner. Her words seemed to act like cold water on Hisoka's face as she suddenly widened her eyes and jumped, life springing forth in her surprised expression. Nami smiled smugly and nodded, causing ripples to falter Hisoka's composure once again.

"I had no idea, I'm so sorry," Hisoka spoke hurriedly, quickly feeling the effects of guilt. Though her smile remained, it broadcasted the effects, as well. "I really have no idea how I slept for so long."

"We don't know, either. Anyway, while you were resting all this time, we've finally reached the place that Johnny was talking about. Luffy wants to go in and find us a sea-cook." Hisoka nodded, running her hands over her hair, flinching away when she felt the painful tugs of the knots. She felt as though she had had a conversation with Luffy about a sea-cook before, yet it was a very vague recollection. She could have been imagining it. "But that idiot screwed up again and got himself into some kind of trouble. Don't freak out about it like you always do, it's nothing. I'm heading over to the place with the guys to fix things up." Nami sighed, mumbling under her breath about how she had to do all of the work on the ship sometimes. Roughly dragging her fingers through her hair, she peered back at Hisoka. "Johnny won't stop talking about how good the food is there. If you come along and we end up getting some food, you could have some."

Hisoka paused, rushing her thought process to give Nami a prompt reply. "There are just a few things that I need to do to make up for lost time. I may come in later, though."

"Well, I'm not saving you a seat," Nami retorted childishly. Hisoka's unclear, soft laughter echoed in the room as the navigator walked towards her desk and rummaged through a few objects. Hisoka slowly removed the blankets from her body, trying to recall when she got into bed last. She squinted her eyes, yet any memories that she could dig up were fuzzy and only confused the seamstress even further.

"You know," Nami called out, jerking Hisoka from her flustered daze. Nodding and looking up at her friend, she met Nami's cunning gaze with her normal smile. "I may just bring you back some food if you get that dress finished before we get back." Nami took a few steps towards her seated roommate, her smile taking on a deviant edge. "I shouldn't even have to be bribing you, though. You really owe it to me for not waking you up earlier, and for keeping everyone else from coming down here and waking you." Finding faux interest in her nails, Nami grinned at Hisoka's slightly exasperated, friendly expression. "It was a really nice thing of me to do, don't you think? The life on a boat is hard, Hisoka, everyone needs to chip in. And with Zoro sleeping all day, it's hard to go on missing two of our crewmates."

Getting up from her bed, natural laughter fled from Hisoka's lips as she shook her head. "Thank you, Nami," she said politely. "I really do appreciate it. I promise to have the dress finished immediately." Hearing Nami agree, Hisoka approached her desk and fished out her hairbrush before taming her gentle curls on her shoulders. The two shared some mutual laughter for a while. Once Hisoka felt her hair was sufficiently styled, she looked back to her friend with the same, soft smile. "I really do apologize for this, though. I didn't realize I was so exhausted."

Looking over her shoulder at the seamstress before turning to face her completely, a curiously concerned look overtook Nami's face. "What's with this sudden dead sleep, though? You've been acting worn out this whole week, and now this? I don't get it, Hisoka. Ever since that night you snuck out to sleep on the deck, you've been out of it."

Having thrown another pebble, Nami watched with interest as the ripples spread through Hisoka's whole being, beginning with the twitch in her smile and ending with tensing of her muscles. Within a split second, Hisoka regained control. "I'm really not sure, either. I have been feeling fine, though. This is very unexpected for me, as well." Her words would only sound ever-so-slightly hesitant to even a well-trained ear. Yet, Hisoka stood strong, her smile never changing in the slightest when Nami held her under a scrutinizing gaze. Quickly enough, the navigator seemed to brush it off with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Seems like you woke up in the morning then fell back to sleep," Nami said as though it was a well-known fact.

"What makes you think so?" Hisoka asked, giving her friend an inquisitive stare.

The navigator looked over Hisoka's body before watching her unwavering expression with obvious skepticism. Crossing her arms and shifting her weight around, pursing her lips as she allowed Hisoka to stew in the atmosphere, Nami finally spoke. "Are you serious?" When Hisoka's expression only became increasingly bewildered, Nami sighed, shaking her head at her roommate. She was trying her best to hold back from opining. "Just look at yourself, Hisoka." The seamstress gazed at Nami's face, as if waiting for the fogginess of her response to clear, yet she was only met with an agitated stare. Cautiously backing down from the stare, Hisoka bowed her head, a gasp flying off her tongue. Her hands were automatically trying to smooth out the wrinkles in the skirt of her dress. Mumbling about missing an iron as she frantically looked around the room, she returned to patting her dress with even more fervor.

"You're right," she muttered to Nami. After a few moments, she dejectedly gave up on her vain attempts. "You're right," she repeated with a mild sigh once she met Nami's eyes.

"I know," the girl said, clasping her hands behind her back and grinning smugly. She relaxed her expression, pointing out, "Something must have really been wrong with you to get back into bed without changing into that nightgown of yours." Knowing her back was facing the prying girl, Hisoka clenched her jaw, trying to keep focused on searching through her wardrobe. When she finally turned around, holding an unwrinkled replica of her usual dress, the satisfactory glow she was bearing diminished when she finally met Nami's stubborn leer. Yet, her smile and the cheery atmosphere that naturally accompanied her remained, proving to Nami that she was finally awake enough to hide any ripples.

"I wish I knew what it was. Once I figure it out, I promise I won't let it happen again." Flustered that she was no longer able to play around with her friend, Nami exhaled loudly with a roll of her eyes and began to take her leave.

Stopping short, she turned around and threw in her farewell. "By the way, Yosaku is up and feeling a lot better." Just as she saw Hisoka's disposition brighten, she turned around and climbed the stairs. Just before shutting the hatch, she poked her head back in and made sure the seamstress would beware. "You better get to work on finishing my dress." And so she left Hisoka to figure out the silent threat hidden in between her spoken words.

Even after the one she was acting for left, Hisoka challenged herself to keep her smile wide and visible. A sigh slipped past her upturned lips and her poise drooped. Turning and dragging her feet around the room, she felt the shackles of exhaustion growing heavier each time her eyes passed the bed. Her limbs shifted torpidly as she removed her wrinkled dress and slipped on its pristine duplicate. When she finally collapsed into her chair, comatose seemed ever so appealing. The smiling girl dreamily mused about an uninterrupted, peaceful rest as she robotically picked up the black fabric and her needle and thread. Though her entire body was obviously suffering from the pain caused by the boulders of fatigue resting in her mind and on her shoulders, her hands moved eloquently in her lap. Her green eyes were forcefully held open as she stared into space, sighing through her smile once again.

Her eyes slowly refocused, lazily scanning the walls around her until they found something pleasant to rest on. The stress in her eyes withered away, rebirthing a more content glaze that hid her fret just as well. "Mama Suki," she spoke to the letter framed on the wall, tracing the movements of her handwriting with her pupils. "This isn't working out that well." Hisoka stared nostalgically at the paper for a few seconds longer before quickly looking away, as though she had accidentally spoken a shameful secret aloud. So Hisoka kept her position for a spell, her hands resembling elegant machinery, her mind envying a train wreck, her smile bright enough to illuminate the whole sky, with sleep deprivation taking its course. Her blessed green eyes never once dared to peer at the written promise again.

Hisoka was forced back into reality when she stabbed her finger with the needle. Trying to hush her pained mewls, Hisoka placed her aching finger to her lips, staring down at the black dress she had been sewing so quickly. She sucked on her finger for a moment before snipping the thread and putting her materials away. Holding out the spaghetti strap black dress with the slightly flouncy skirt and the corset top that she had worked so hard to create livened up her spirits. She slowly and neatly folded Nami's dress, trying to ignore the magnetic pull that was trying to drag her back into bed by focusing on her stomach and the hunger that was growing there. To Hisoka, the difference between smiling for one person and smiling for a whole restaurant was little to none, but the brunette couldn't bring herself to even think about going through everything it would take to get to the restaurant.

Sleeping was becoming one of the most difficult parts of Hisoka's day, and she had no idea why. She was too tired to think about it long enough to come to a conclusion, as well. Living out on the sea meant getting up early and staying awake and always being alert. Although Zoro slept a lot, when he finally awoke, he was always full of energy. Hisoka wasn't like that. Dare she sneak into her room and take naps during the day, waking up was one of the hardest things to do. It also left her groggy, which was something she couldn't stand for. So, the only time she could get into bed was during the night, which was exactly when her body decided not to rest. The darkness shone upon her eyelids like a bright interrogation light and made her mind reel.

She could no longer leave and sit outside and let Usopp tell her stories whenever he was on watch duty. She was a moron for ever doing so in the first place. It took days of constant smiling and a perky veneer to get the crew off her back. Every single question they asked her added another boulder on her shoulders and more weight on her eyelids. Slowly and slowly, they were making her reminisce about her home—something she had avoided like the plague. So she lay in bed every night, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes once Nami was asleep and she didn't have to pretend. At first it was easy for her to stealthily move around the room and find something to work on, but nowadays she was too fatigued to step lightly instead of dragging her feet. So she was stuck in bed, trying to be as still as possible, staring at the hatch, counting the specks of dust in the air, trying to keep track of time. Under the covers with blood-shot eyes, Hisoka had never felt so imprisoned. She never thought she would wish for the nights that were filled with nightmares to return. They were better than the insomniac reality she had to face when the sun was so low in the sky.

The sleepy-eyed, smiling girl reached up and patted her cheeks, rubbing her eyes with her fists to rid herself of the telltale signs. As she walked out of the room, completed dress and a book to distract her from the thoughts of the oblivious coma she longed for in hand, her eyes betrayed her, lingering on the framed letter above her desk. She stopped half-way up the stairs, being reminded of the weight on her joints. Her smile tightened slightly. "I know," she softly spoke to the paper. "I'm being difficult." And she hoped that somewhere, Mama Suki and all her cherished ones understood her reasons why a little bit better than she did.

Somehow finding the strength inside of her, Hisoka finally made it through the storage room and pushed open the door, exposing herself to the bright sky that allowed her to slumber. She closed the door securely behind her, reluctantly releasing the handle to hold all of her weight steady on her two dead legs. The grace she had acquired from being the saint of her island wasn't all that visible as she made her way over to Nami's lounge chair and placed her items down. Looking over her shoulder at the floating restaurant, Hisoka was tired enough to barely notice the smoke raising out of a large hole in the roof. Her slothful mind could only handle a few thoughts at a time. If she returned to her room, it would be impossible for her to avoid her bed any longer. Looking back to the chair, she now realized that if she sat out here and read, she was bound to be lulled away by the warmth of the sunlight. She couldn't risk being caught in a dead slumber after the hours she had already spent "resting". She didn't trust herself to handle the questions that would follow very well.

Her mind stopped its pitiful fretting the second her breath hitched in her throat. The hairs on her neck stood on end. Electric sparks in the back of her head sent warnings to all of her nerves, pulling out the urge to panic in her lackadaisical mind. It was a surreal feeling, one she had never before faced, but one that had her instincts screaming so savagely that it was like they had acquired a foreign tongue. Control slipped from her grasp and her body flung itself around, and she faced the cause of her ominous sensations with an idyllic expression. Johnny and Yosaku didn't stop staring at her, although they blinked a few times. She exhaled through her radiant smile, but the second she was freed of her fight or flight frenzy, her mind comprehended exactly who she was staring at. Abruptly, inner turmoil was set off again as previously dormant feelings bloomed, exploded, and collided inside of her. Her composure was a causality on the sidelines as the battle began. First, it was the euphoric excitement at the sight of the man who had so violently invaded the Going Merry and put her in such a dangerous situation. She could have fallen to her knees, melted and squealed and fawned at the sight of him and the memories that were stirred so frantically by the visuals. Then, it was relieved and concerned as it recalled the peaceful, yet tormented face of the man that she had lulled and made so many promises to. She panicked to be rid of the extreme emotions, and when her darting eyes landed on Yosaku and his slightly paled complexion, she was able to sublimate her raging passions. Her inner war went unknown to her two spectators.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't notice that you two were here," Hisoka stated apologetically as her smile grew gentler and her muscles relaxed. To them she looked perfectly content, if not slightly less than lively. "I didn't mean to ignore you. Yosaku-san and…" Hisoka hesitated when her eyes stared at the sunglasses on his face. "Johnny-san, wasn't it? I'm sorry, I don't believe we were properly introduced."

"That's right, Hisoka-aneki," Johnny confirmed. Hisoka gave him a friendly look. She glanced between the two, her twitching fingers and the slight strain on her eyes going unnoticed.

"How are you two doing? I heard that you slept well, Yosaku-san." Yosaku nodded and grinned, holding out his arms and flexing his muscles before confiding in her that he slept better than he had ever slept before. He told her how grateful he was, but before he could get into any hysterics, Hisoka smoothly cut in, "I'm so glad to hear that! If either of you are having any trouble at all, please, come see me and I will do my best to aid you." Although she hadn't spoken in such a refined manner since a while after she departed from Happy Island, Hisoka didn't feel out of place in the least. She was used to it. This way of being was engraved into her.

After a few moments of silence passing through the gaze they all shared, Johnny broke that silence in two. "That was really amazing, though, Hisoka-aneki. You dealt with my partner so perfectly!" Yosaku began to nod enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah, I was in a lot of pain, but I just forgot all about it! I can't even explain the feeling. I forgot it when I fell asleep. I don't know if it was a dream or what…."

Hisoka's smile turned humble. "Oh, I'm sure most of that was due to Nami's treatment, certainly. I don't deserve all the praise here."

"We already thanked Nami-aneki a lot. She just got mad at us, though." Hisoka laughed, promising them that that was just the way the navigator was and that she surely meant no offense.

"How did you ever get so good at what you do, though?" Johnny inquired.

"M'hmm, it's like you said all the perfect words. You knew just what to say."

Hisoka paused, her hesitation hardly hindering her smile as her mind raced. "Well, you know," she exhaled, "I've been doing this for a long time. It's what I love doing."

"They do say that practice makes perfect." Hisoka nodded at the two in an agreeing manner, a slightly relieved look filling her eyes. The two suddenly showed the same hesitation that Hisoka had been battling clear on their faces. They tumbled slightly over their words, almost speaking at the same time. "We were afraid that the reason why you were sleeping so much was because you were tired out from helping us."

"Oh, no!" Hisoka shot, shaking her head back and forth. "That is not the reason why—please, don't think such things. Helping you wasn't a bother in anyway whatsoever and it didn't tire me out at all. I was really honored to help you both. I probably would have been exhausted by my own worry if I had not helped you, really." Fretful guilt lingered on her face, contradicting her gentle smile. The two paused again before their speech collided, much more cautiously this time.

"Well, if that wasn't it, then what did tire you out so much?" Taken aback, it was once again Hisoka's turn to waver.

"I—" The girl cut herself off, speechless. Her company quickly caught on, sending the suspicious seamstress wary looks. Her composure was back in an instant, perfectly poised, balancing out her smile. "I'm really not sure. It came to as big a shock to me as it did to everyone else." Yosaku and Johnny stared at her, not granting her a reply. Their eyes managed to get under her skin. To hold back from squirming, her eyes nonchalantly left theirs and wandered around the empty deck. They sparked slightly, resting on a certain sight for a moment. Motioning towards it with her hand, she looked back to the two with a wider, different grin. "The railing is fixed. Did you two do that, or was it Usopp?"

Their suspicion was quickly lost to slight bashfulness and pride. "We did it," Yosaku informed. Hisoka commended their work.

"How could we not? We felt so bad for damaging the ship. Usopp wouldn't be quiet about some girl named Kaya, either."

"No, no," Hisoka soothed. "You thought we were trying to hurt Yosaku-san, if I remember correctly. You did what you needed to do." The girl's eyes were suddenly lit with a new fire, her smile taking on a different edge. "Although, I have to admit…." Even her voice held a more zealous tone. She prayed she was the only one that could distinguish it. "It was quite a shock, seeing you act is such an awes—I mean, destructive way." Hisoka bowed her head automatically, hiding away her suddenly out of control expression, clearing her throat and withdrawing from the two. "I'm terribly sorry, I must have something caught in my throat."

"You saw?" Johnny asked, sounding completely surprised. Although, Hisoka barely heard his question while she tried to tame her own flames. She was just grateful that it seemed as though he hadn't noticed her ludicrous behavior. To her it was overwhelming and all too obvious. Was it even possible for her to withhold enough skill to hide it away? Apparently she did, or else everyone would consider her a galoot. Slowly, Hisoka repeated Johnny's words in her pensive mind. She finally straightened her back along with her smile once she was confident that her eyes were clear and her extreme ardor was concealed down to the very last sparkling glint.

"Yes, don't you remember?" Her voice was back to being prim, proper, and amiable. "I believe I came out a little while before Luffy did." The way so many emotions could flash across Johnny's entire being in such a short amount of time and in such supreme bursts stunned Hisoka into a stupefied stage. Yosaku was mimicking her, if only slightly more concerned for his close friend. At first he seemed contemplative, then after an explosion of revelation, his expression was changing too rapidly for Hisoka to follow. She was only dumbfounded even further when the next thing she knew, he was in frantic tears and choking on his own sobs, staring right at Hisoka and shouting sputters at her.

"Johnny-san!" Hisoka yelped when his outburst of depression intensified before her eyes. As she reached out towards him, desperate for some way to stop his spouts of tears, he grabbed onto her hands and began to shake them desperately. Hisoka had never felt so flummoxed before. Yosaku began to frenziedly question his partner, and when Johnny responded with blubbers, it was as though Yosaku understood everything he said perfectly. Hisoka would have admired the bond they must have shared if it weren't for the fact that Yosaku was suddenly on the verge of tears as well, hitting her with another shockwave of out of control bewilderment.

"Hi-Hi-Hi-Hiso-Hisoka-Hisoka-anekiiiii!" Luckily Yosaku wasn't as far gone as Johnny, otherwise the seamstress would have felt like she was stuck on a foreign planet where everyone was blind and sobbing without any cause. Hisoka was snapped back into reality by his cry, quickly turning all of her attention on him, although her hands were still entrapped by Johnny. She desperately begged him to explain to her the reason behind all of this—what he was feeling and why. It took her frenetic mind a while to understand his wails. "You have been so nice to us, and he treated you so horribly when we showed up, and Johnny almost killed you, and we're so sorry!" The spiels of apology and shame went on and on, and it seemed as though Johnny's blended in, creating the perfectly unbearable harmony of two grown men in midst of a tantrum. When she finally came to her senses, Hisoka, unable to move because of the binding on her hands, was helpless to do anything other than try to scream over their obnoxious weeping.

"Please, don't cry like this! Honestly, I understand! There is no need to feel such shame!" They didn't respond. There was a possibility they were ignoring her. "I know that people do things they don't mean to do when they are upset! I know this! I have dealt with many, many unhappy people before! Please, understand this and calm down!" Hisoka was reminded of her fatigue when she tried to pull away from Johnny and her muscles only cried out sorrowfully. Several minutes later, the two had calmed down. Hisoka was slowly released, both of them just gazing at her with wet doubt.

"But people who are just upset wouldn't have tried to kill you," Johnny countered, seeming to forget his own motivation. "You would have been helping them, anyway, right, Hisoka-aneki?"

It took Hisoka a little while to compose herself. Once she did, she gave them a look of soft affection. "People lose control when their emotional safety is threatened. I understand that, and I have dealt with it on all levels." The two weren't satisfied with her answer, forcing her to go more in depth with a gentle sigh and a subtle smile. "Certainly my cherished ones never laid a hand on me in such a way, but on the occasions that Happy Island was invaded, I was placed in many similar situations."

"Happy Island?" The inquiry came once almost all traces of their fanatics were gone.

"M'hmm. That's my home island, it's where I grew up and where I lived before Luffy and everyone came and found me. All of my cherished ones are still there." After that, they didn't speak again. Hisoka gave them a polite smile, silently excusing herself as she walked over to Nami's lounge chair and had a seat. Before she had anytime to regret her decision and fret over the devastating languor that returned, Yosaku and Johnny took a seat before her on the deck of the boat and glued their eyes to her once again. She feared the weariness would show in her smile as she crossed her legs and returned their stare, placing her book in her lap and fiddling with the spine to keep herself awake. "Yes?" she acknowledged them in almost a whisper. The ship was quiet enough for them to hear her loud and clear.

"We can't believe that you are the Devil Pleasure Goddess." They were very straightforward with Hisoka, something that she was slightly unfamiliar with. Caught off guard, she was left to sit and blink at them for a few moments.

She laughed softly, "Sometimes I feel the same way, but I promise you that I am. The one and only, even though I'm not used to the title."

"But you're nothing like her," Yosaku declared. "You're not a devil at all. You're more like a…saint or an angel or something." When Hisoka didn't reply to them, he spoke again. "Haven't you heard of all the rumors?" Johnny nodded a silent urge for her to reply, for he had been wondering the same thing.

Sadness threatened to swell inside of the seamstress's gut, so she brightened her smile as her eyes dimmed. She pondered on whether or not they were taking note of all her pauses. "Of course I have. They are a little bit hard to ignore. My village did try to protect me from them, but they came along with all those that invaded the island in search of the girl in the rumors."

"Are any of them true?" Upon hearing Johnny's question, Hisoka braced herself and asked him to elaborate. "Like, well, we've heard a lot…." The look in Hisoka's eyes told them that she was ready to hear of them. "Well, like, that you live on Happy Island, which you never ever leave, and you rule the island and that it's filled with a bunch of your followers—although, some say that all of your followers are men. Followers, as in, you know, people that looked into your eyes and lost themselves in that feeling and that you convinced to live for you and you alone."

"I heard that you would keep them prisoner and make them forget about everything—their family and their friends and their home—and everything else except for you. You'd make them wait on your hand and foot and you would have anyone that couldn't do everything that you wanted killed."

"Some people said that you would make them risk their lives for you under the pretense that if they defeated anyone that came looking for you, you would look at them again. They said that you could make an entire army of men fall onto their knees and cry like little babies. Nobody could ever explain what it was like to look into your eyes, though."

"But there were some pretty…_vulgar _theories. Those were probably the reasons why so many people were coming after you in the beginning."

"More and more people became interested when it became known that you were undefeated, and the rumors became more and more complex."

"There were even rumors on what you looked like and how you spoke. They rumors got so out of control and had so much variety that some people began to consider the Devil Pleasure Goddess to be a legend, or something that happened a really long time ago and had gone down in history."

"I once heard that you were immortal. That you really were related to the devil."

According to the sudden panic that overtook their features, the smiling girl was unable to control the look igniting her eyes."Of course, we know that none of that is true," Johnny sputtered. She nodded civilly, humming in agreement from behind her upturned lips, the new look in her eyes never fading. "Those are just things that we heard. Rumors are always like that."

"Are they?" Hisoka retorted in a slightly rhetoric tone. Her words flowed from her lips, sounding as though they were forced out compared to her normal charismatic ways. "Well, I guess I should have assumed as much." The sound of her own voice stunned her into silence. Working too hard to control the passions inside of her, it was proving difficult to properly hide anything else that she felt. She cleared her throat, her voice regaining its sweet undertone. "To answer your question, none of them are true. I really have no idea how people came up with such ideas about me. The power of people's imaginations is astounding, don't you think?" She sounded as though she was making pleasant conversation with the two, but the shock in her eyes was still screaming differently. Placing her elbow on her knee, Hisoka rested her chin in her palm and covered her pursed lips with her fingers, her gaze resting on the floor under her feet. Her other hand slowly reached up and squeezed the fabric over her heart.

"Erm, you know, this isn't all that bad. It's okay. 'Cause, you know, this just means that nobody will be able to find you. Even if they did come across you, unless you took out your contacts and looked at them, they wouldn't have any idea that you were the Devil Pleasure Goddess. And your real name isn't known very well."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to upset you, Hisoka-aneki –"

"Huh?" The girl jolted upwards, her face snapping into a bright, alive, and cheery expression. "Oh, please don't fret! I'm not the least bit unhappy. I thank you for telling me about all these things, I had no idea the rumors went to such ridiculous lengths. I'm happy to no longer be in the dark." When they gazed at her with wary concern, she laughed gently and shook her head, waving her hands in front of her in a peaceful way. Her smile grew with even more sincerity. "I find it all very interesting, and I was just lost in my thoughts, honestly." And just like her cherished ones back on her island, it was impossible for them to doubt her beaming smile.

So, time passed silently for several moments. The two gave Hisoka a bit of space once completely convinced that she was in high spirits. The seamstress picked up her book, smoothing out the dress that she left resting on the lounge chair as she moved to the railing of the boat. Leaning her back against it, she opened her book and tried her hardest to become engrossed in the pages. As her brow wrinkled with vain attempts at concentration, she was surprised. She had been expecting to be battling only against herself for focus, yet there was another factor. Withholding a sigh, she looked up at Yosaku and Johnny, who were openly staring at her without fail.

"Is there something you need?" she asked kindly. They both shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. Hisoka paused for a second before letting out a nervous giggle. "Then…?"

Yosaku finally gave her a verbal response. "Nami-aneki made us swear to keep an eye on you." Confusion and surprise almost blew away Hisoka's smile, but it stood strong. Before she could ask for further explanation, Johnny elaborated.

"She said that you were dangerous. Well, a danger to yourself. She said that you jump off the boat a lot and randomly jump up and hang off the head where Luffy-aniki sits."

Hisoka stared at them with wide eyes for a moment before her look softened. She reached up, moving some hair behind her ears as her cheeks warmed slightly. "Thank you, then. I really appreciate it." This time, the two pirate hunters staggered. For Hisoka hadn't denied the accusations, meaning she was quickly becoming one of the most complex girls they knew. Knowing their reason somehow calmed Hisoka. She didn't know why, but feeling their gaze on her allowed her to understand the words on the pages and to get lost in them the way she wanted to. It was like she was being protected, and that slight feeling of safety was close enough to what she desired to warm her heart. The blessed feeling of relaxation was something else she had feared had crumbled away with her home.

"Hisoka-aneki?" The brunette looked towards them with a unique warmth in her eyes. "I've been wondering…. If you really loved Happy Island so much, and if all of the people you care about are still on that island, then why did you leave?" The warmth never left Hisoka's eyes during her long pause.

"…I suppose I left because I love Happy Island so much, and because all of my cherished people are still there."

"…What?" they asked with purely perplexed faces.

Instead of giving them any kind of response that would help them understand, the seamstress perked up slightly and confused them even further. "May I ask a favor of you two?" They glanced at each other before nodding hesitantly. "You two travel the sea a lot, and meet a lot of pirates, and hear a lot of rumors, right?" Her smile almost doubled in size when they nodded again. "Would it be troublesome for you two to please spread the word of my new location?" When they stared at her with growing uncertainty, she clarified, "That I'm on this ship now, that I'm a pirate, and that I've left Happy Island for good."

"Well, sure, if you want us to."

"But why would you?"

The next answer that Hisoka provided them with came without even a second of hesitation. "Because I don't want them going to my Happy Island."


End file.
